UMass Lowell P. Tong Business Center Communications Program Design

PROJECT: UMass Lowell P. Tong Business Center Communications Program
CLIENT: Cambridge 7 Architects
LOCATION: Lowell, MA


UMass Orange Frames Green Story: A LEED-Gold Building Tells Its Story

Architects C7 asked Image 4 to develop a LEED-supportive graphical presentation to tell the story of UMass Lowell’s latest LEED-Gold building. From materials specification to installation, our 30-years focus on environmental sustainability informed our solution for the project.

PROJECT SERVICES


  • Engineering
  • Specification
  • LEED Requirements Management
  • Fabrication
  • Graphic Production
  • Installation


Project Overview

A cornerstone of the LEED building ethic is that the building must not only be “green”, it should also be a platform for explaining green building to visitors. When UMass Lowell sought LEED certification for its Pulichino Tong Business Center (PTB) they knew that communicating the sustainable construction of the building was a key element of the process.

Longtime partner C7 Architects asked Image 4 to detail a permanent installation for the building. Following a C7 concept, Image 4 developed a multi-dimensional presentation of large-scale info-graphics. The installation had to support the building’s stringent LEED design parameters: inks, paints, and substrates used must not exude harmful gasses (low-VOC).  Construction materials wherever possible, must be sourced within 500 miles of the job site (carbon footprint).  All materials must be easily recycled and or recyclable (materials reduction).

Most critically, these materials had to be durable. The installation has to endure industrial cleaning, UV rays from the sun pouring through the large format windows, wide temperature swings from solar gain and building conditions, and the day-to-day wear and tear of a busy campus.

Image 4 selected engineered plywood panels and developed a unique hanging system. We performed extensive tests with various pigments, inks and dyes before settling on a process of direct Ultra-violet printing the plywood. C7’s art department supplied files detailing the LEED design and process, which were printed to the display boards. Image 4 installers hung the panels as a 12-foot high x 36 feet.


 

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