Case Studies

Contrasting Metal Roof Styles Help New Townhouse Office Buildings Meet Stiff Historic Design Standards

Challenge:

In researching roofing materials for two new townhouse-style office buildings at the headquarters complex of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va., the project architects, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Washington, D.C., insisted on a system that would be cost-effective, durable and acceptable for use in an historic area. Moreover, the townhouse roofs had to be color compatible with the roofs, flashings and facades of the existing PTO complex, while projecting a different look along each section of the new buildings.

Solution:

The architects selected a coated aluminum roofing system featuring some 20,000-square feet of .040 and .032-gauge standing-seam, flat-seam, stamped diamond-shape and wood-shake-style panels in champagne gold. The roof system is warrantied for 20 years and helps satisfy a requirement by the Alexandria Design Review Board that the new 400-foot-long buildings resemble smaller, nearby structures.