The new Wake Technical Community College North Campus parking deck in Raleigh, N.C., was constructed near a wooded area at the end of the campus. The design goal was for the building to have a look to contrast with its surroundings while reflecting the beauty of the natural habitat.

Tzu Chen, AIA, of BBH Design in Raleigh, N.C., specified screened wall panels to help achieve the aesthetic goals, all while staying under budget. Screen wall panels minimize the amount of sunlight and UV rays hitting vehicles inside. MORIN provided its MR-36S stainless steel perforated screened wall panels for the project.

Stainless steel offers a resistance to corrosion and staining, low maintenance and a look that will not change like some metals.

“We produced two different perforation patterns for the screen walls,” says MORIN regional sales manager Daniel Davenport. “One was large and the other smaller to best show a contrast between the panels. And because the panels are stainless steel, they provide a life-cycle cost benefit.”

MORIN’s perforated exposed or concealed fastener panels offer open area ranging from 10 to 40 percent, creating the effect of a translucent screen to provide passive solar shading, control light and sound pollution, air movement or simply obscure building contents. Panels may be installed vertically, horizontally or even diagonally, based upon design.

“The biggest thing is that the panels were able to meet the structural requirements,” Davenport says. "The MR-36S profile features a 3-inch rib for strength. Four panels together formed each screen, measuring 12x48 feet."

The original plan was to install the perforated screen wall on only three sides of the parking deck, strictly as a cost-saving measure. The client insisted on installing the MR-36S screened wall panels on the fourth side, the side that faces the wooded area and the campus. It turned out to be economically feasible.

“First of all, we had to stay within the project cost,” Chen says. “Those panels were going to have to cover a lot of area, so we were trying to keep the cost down. And where the parking deck is located, it’s a natural environment, there’s a forest on one side. The MR-36S contrasted the environment, but reflected the environment. When the sky changes, it’s reflected in the panels.”

Approximately 20,000 square feet of the MR-36S screen wall was installed by Rodriguez Glass of Durham, N.C. About three-fourths of the screen wall had perforations allowing for 40 percent open area. Most of the remaining screen wall was perforated to allow for 10 percent open area. MORIN offers seven different performation styles for screen wall panels.