McNICHOLS ECO-MESH® CASE STUDY
CHIHULY GARDEN AND GLASS
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
THE HOLE OBJECTIVE
Seattle planners and designers were asked to convert an amusement
park under Seattle’s Space Needle into the Chihuly Garden and Glass
exhibition. Their challenge was to showcase the works of renowned
artist Dale Chihuly in an environment that would transform the
building into an exhibition hall and the asphalt surface into a garden for
displaying Chihuly’s most popular works and architectural installations.
Blending the building’s exterior with the outdoor garden was a critical
part of the task. Because the east exterior wall would face the garden
and glass house, which is the exhibition’s centerpiece, it was clear that
the building needed a signifi cant element of green.
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THE HOLE SOLUTION
With LEED certification in mind, the design and construction
teams from the Seattle area — comprised of Owens
Richards Architects, Seattle; AHBL, Seattle; Schuchart
Corporation, Seattle; and Cobra Building Envelope Contractors,
Spokane, WA — took a unique approach that, in addition to its
aesthetic appeal, would reduce heat gain and lower the impact of
carbon dioxide.
In concert with planning the green roof, a living wall was added on
the east and west sides of the hall using McNICHOLS
ECO-MESH®, with the largest installation on the east
(garden) side. Incorporating ECO-MESH® with the green roof
influenced the facility’s energy efficiency and helped the project
achieve a LEED Silver rating through the U.S. Green Building Council.
The ECO-MESH® system specified in the Chihuly Garden
and Glass exhibition project consists of 95 panels that average
48" by 144" in size. Each panel is constructed with two layers of
12 Gauge crimped Woven Wire Mesh in a 10 gauge frame.
Today, ECO-MESH® co-exists with the exhibition hall’s green roof,
achieving the type of living envelope envisioned by the design team.
McNICHOLS is honored to be part of this green Hole Solution!
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