October 30, 2006—Consolidating the county’s fragmented justice facilities and eliminating deficiencies and public confusion among three existing courthouses, the new Mecklenburg County Courthouse in Charlotte, N.C. will bring all of its courtrooms and support services underneath one roof when it opens in January 2007.
Helping protect the new facility and its occupants, Wausau Window and Wall Systems provided a 75,000-square-foot blast mitigating curtainwall system that adheres to heightened security measures mandated by the US government, while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the architect’s design, says Wausau.
The Charlotte-based team of Turner Construction and FN Thompson plus minority contractor Walter B. Davis, general contractor Meyers and Chapman, and concrete contractor Doggett Concrete, began construction in July 2003. Selected for its expertise in blast mitigation, Wausau ‘s project manager Carl Wanta explains, ” Wausau ‘s experience in these types of projects made us a logical choice for this project, along with our ability to work and coordinate directly with other trades such as the architects, consultants and glaziers.”
Relying on these collaborative practices and well-respected engineering skills, Juba Aluminum of Concord, N.C. called on Wausau to develop a unitized curtainwall system that would withstand an extremely high static equivalent blast pressure. Blast consultants at Hinman Consulting Engineers, San Francisco, further enhanced Wausau and Juba’s expertise and ensured critical calculations were correct for modeling, mock-ups and the final curtainwall system.
With sensitivity to system’s blast mitigation features, Wausau fabricated the fully unitized system in its quality-controlled, Wisconsin-based manufacturing facility. The courthouse’s curtainwall also includes 100 vertical pivoting windows, additional fixed windows, and framing depths ranging from six- to 10-inches. All of the aluminum was finished by Linetec in a custom, two-color paint scheme.
Nationally recognized for its innovative expertise, Wausau Window and Wall Systems is an industry leader in engineering window and curtainwall systems for commercial and institutional construction applications. For more information, visit the Web site.
Wausau is a part of Apogee Enterprises, Inc., a publicly held, U.S. corporation. For more information on Wausau Window and Wall Systems, please call 877-678-2983, or visit www.wausauwindow.com.
