Central Community College Health and Science Education Center
Dri-Design Panels Play Key Role On Community College Addition
The new Central Community College Health and Science Education Center in Grand Island, NE is the latest addition to the college’s expanding campus. Providing traditional classrooms, lecture halls and laboratories, the 44,000 sq. ft. facility is also equipped with high-tech “distance learning” capabilities to allow interaction with instructors and students at other locations throughout the Central Community College system.
Approximately 12,500 sq. ft. of Dri-Design panels were used on the project in both exterior and interior applications. The .080” aluminum panels were finished in Crystal Ice.
The patented Dri-Design Wall Panel System is an affordable dry joint, pressure-equalized rainscreen system.
Wilkins Hinrichs Stober Architects, Kearney, NE, was the project’s designer. “The building is linked to other campus structures that utilize a material palette of traditional masonry and metal,” explained Rod Randolph, project architect. “We used those materials on the exterior as well as actually bringing them to the interior of the building. We also employed a significant wood canopy in the large gathering area to bring the space down to scale. The material mix on the interior delivers a high tech feel yet creates a comfortable, inviting environment.”
The architectural firm has considerable experience with Dri-Design. “We had used it before and we’ve used it since,” Randolph said. “It provides a great value.”
Installation of the Dri-Design panels was done by SGH, Inc., Omaha. “Not only did we have the Dri-Design, we also installed the sunshades and the curved ACM that integrated with the Dri-Design soffits and the vertical window mullions,” said Jeremy Zerzan, project manager. “There was a tremendous amount of joint layout on our end as well as Dri-Design’s to get the proper size panels to match all of the elements. It was one of the more challenging jobs we’ve done but it really turned out great.”
Dri-Design panels can be made from a variety of materials including painted aluminum, zinc, copper and stainless steel and are 100% recyclable. Panels are available in any Kynar color in both standard and custom sizes.
About Dri-Design
Founded in Holland, Michigan in 1995, Dri-Design's signature product is an economically priced, 100% recyclable, pressure-equalized dry-joint rainscreen metal wall system that utilizes panels manufactured from PDVF-finished aluminum, anodized aluminum, zinc, copper, stainless steel, embossed stainless steel or titanium. Panels are offered in standard module sizes but can be produced in custom dimensions as well. Variations of the standard systems include the company’s Tapered and Shadow systems. Dri-Design also offers the revolutionary Ombrae™ graphic system, which sculpts three-dimensional pixels into Dri-Design panels to reflect light and form images. The process can be used to create everything from hanging artwork to building-sized exterior murals. To learn more about the company's products, visit www.dri-design.com.