- Project Wright-Patterson Security Forces
- Location Fairborn, Ohio
- Type of Precast CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels
- Project Size 52,000 sq. ft.
- CarbonCast Surface Area 43,900 sq. ft.
- Architect Emersion Design; Roll & Associates, Inc.
- Engineer Woolpert, Inc.
- Contractor Wilcon Corporation
- Owner US Army Engineer District, Louisville
- Precaster High Concrete Group LLC
- CarbonCast chosen for design versatility and durability
- Carbon fiber wythe connectors deter thermal bridging through panels
CarbonCast a safe bet for Security Forces Headquarters on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
The $14-million, 52,000-square-foot Security Forces headquarters on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Fairborn, Ohio, used CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels for thermal efficiency, durability and aesthetics.
“Precast is an appropriate language for civic buildings, in part because it recalls limestone,” says Jim Cheng, project architect for Emersion Design, the design architect for the project.
“CarbonCast gave us a thermally efficient envelope that is also durable, a main consideration for wear and tear and anti-terrorism and force protection.”
The new facility includes base-wide security for its armory, office space, dispatch center, detention area and warehouse. Thermally efficient CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels encapsulate a 2” layer of rigid XPS foam insulation for continuous insulation as defined by the ASHRAE 90.1 energy code. Panels contribute to sustainable performance since the building was designed for LEED® Silver Certification.
CarbonCast technology utilizes C-GRID® carbon fiber grid wythe ties for fully composite structural performance with relatively low thermal conductivity for an R-10 value in this application.
Reveals in the precast formwork combine with real and false panel joints to create a block-like image that suggests limestone. First floor blocks are scaled giving the illusion of height to the two-story section. The second story is set back to enhance this effect.
Both stories have regular panel details that suggest columns with pedestals. A bullnose and cornice create a strong horizontal line above the columns. Exterior walls are highly articulated to match the adjacent precast building completed by Emersion Design 10 years ago.
CarbonCast helped create a strong sense of compatibility with pre-existing buildings, giving the sense of a unified complex.
The facility was a design-build collaboration between Wilcon Corporation and Roll & Associates, Inc. Emersion Design developed the building concept and the enclosure system was fabricated by High Concrete Group LLC at its plant in Springboro, Ohio.