Safety & Security Metal Mesh Hurricane Protection

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MUSC - Phase I

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System: MeshDefense
Attachment Method: Velocity™
Metal Fabric Pattern: Balance

Project: Central Energy Plant for the Medical University of South Carolina
Location: Charleston, SC
Architect: LS3P Associates-Charleston, South Carolina
Installer: American Warming & Ventilating
Construction Manager: BKGS
Facility Owner: Medical University of South Carolina
Facility End Use: Energy Plant
Rennovation or New Construction: New Construction
Completion Date: July 2006

Project Details: Cambridge Architectural, the leading American manufacturer of architectural mesh systems, introduces Velocity, a new attachment method for mesh MeshDefense applications, specifically for areas subject to hurricane force winds. Engineered to meet the requirements of coastal areas, these mesh systems withstand wind gusts to 176 mph. The new attachment hardware incorporates a tension release mechanism. When confronted with high wind conditions, tension on the installation is automatically released. When winds calm, the mesh is re-tensioned automatically.

Attachment brackets have been modified for these systems to minimize structural stress on both the brackets and the building during high wind conditions. The attachment can also be specified to protect people and property from materials that may strike a building during high wind conditions. Cambridge’s mesh system was originally designed for the exterior of the new Central Energy Plant for the Medical University of South Carolina’s $190 million hospital replacement project.

The system will create a unique design transition between the plant and a planned parking garage, acting as an exterior wall cladding with the added value of security and safety features. The $38 million, 52,000 square foot central energy plant, completed in March 2006, is part of Phase I of the MUSC project and is the first Velocity specification. The completion date for the 1,500-car, eight-story parking garage, is yet to be determined. Phase I also includes the development of a four-story diagnostic and treatment building, a seven-story patient hospitality tower and a garden atrium that connects the two buildings.

The hospital’s master plan will be implemented over the next 20 years and is being designed and built to withstand hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. The hospital is one of a few major health-care projects in the country to meet both the 2000 International Building Code’s significantly enhanced seismic requirements for Charleston, as well as its hurricane and wind load criteria.

The plant’s specified MeshDefense mesh system includes Cambridge’s Balance metal fabric pattern with the new Velocity attachment hardware. The system was designed, tested and certified to meet all applicable code and load requirements for coastal regions. Cambridge’s flexible, open metal fabric patterns such as Balance, Cubist, Scale, Mid-Balance and Braid are ideal choices for Velocity. The aesthetic flexibility of Cambridge Architectural systems allows creative architecture that responds to the architect’s imagination.

The architect for the project was LS3P Associates, Charleston, SC, the contractor was American Warming and Ventilating, Holland, OH and the construction manager was a joint venture of M.B. Kahn Construction Co., Inc., Columbia, SC, Brasfield & Gorrie, Raleigh, NC and Southern Management Group, Charleston, SC.

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