Located in downtown Miami’s Museum Park, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science Aquarium façade presented obstacles beyond site logistics. “The combination of four realities challenged the team: a patterned compound curving façade, tight tolerance, unique structural attachment and Miami-Dade NOA,” said Paul Wolmarans, CEO-Kenpat. “Assembling a core team to bring the right expertise at the right time is the key to the success of this project. To kick-off the effort, we agreed to start with an intensive three-day collaboration.”
The façade team delivered a custom curved structural light-gauge framing system that displaced an earlier proposal for laser cut red iron steel plates. The change decreased overall steel costs and provided greater control of the finished surface geometry. A two-way framing system achieved geometric control in both the vertical and horizontal directions. Vertically oriented custom curved, cold-formed steel structural stud framing attached to the as-built concrete superstructure. The stud layer transferred loads from fiberglass faced gypsum wallboard, waterproofing and a lattice of cold formed steel hat-channel. The lattice provided adjustability to deliver a smooth fastening surface for the stucco and tile façade. This double layer light-gauge system provided separation of the moisture barrier from the finish surface assembly to minimize membrane penetrations. The hat-channel lattice formed a vented cavity to promote air movement through the system to help evacuate errant moisture.