As part of a fast-track $88 million renovation that transforms the WakeMed North Hospital into a full-service hospital, the WakeMed Central Energy Plant in Raleigh, NC – featuring metal products from CENTRIA – serves an important role as the electric and HVAC heart of the healthcare campus. Although central energy plants are often utilitarian in design and lack aesthetic quality, the $9 million WakeMed Central Energy Plant is an exception, blending form and function.

The CENTRIA materials used in the construction of the WakeMed Central Energy Plant allowed the structure to blend seamlessly with the rest of the healthcare campus. “We applied the same design attributes to the energy plant as we did the main campus,” said Ryan Wilborne, AIA, LEED AP and the project architect from BBH Design. “We wanted to keep everything very clean and consistent, with the energy plant minimally included in the overall design aesthetic.”

In clean slate gray, CENTRIA’s Concept Series CS-660 panels with MicroSeam Corners take this project’s facade to new performance and aesthetic heights. Concealed fastener panels and common-lock joinery allow the panel to fit into any custom design. The panels also have the capability to be installed either vertically or horizontally and are available in two textures: stucco embossed or smooth.

Lending well to fast-track projects, installation is quick and easy with the panel’s all-weather capability. The Concept Series panels feature stand-off clips to ensure proper ventilation, provide a drain plane and allow for thermal and seismic movements. The Central Energy Plant’s towers were concealed using CENTRIA’s Ecoscreen Perforated Screenwall to maintain the consistent design aesthetic.

“We thought it would be nice to have a delicate screen around the towers,” added Wilborne. “The screen kind of pulls off the front of the building with an interesting offset effect. The corrugation of the plant’s panels is the same found on the main hospital panels, though the plant’s are perforated.” The screenwall allows for the free flow of air and aids the design process by allowing close-in panel placement. The rooftop panel system is supported by a galvanized tube-steel.

These versatile panels can be installed vertically or horizontally and are available in a variety of color and coating combinations. The Ecoscreen Perforated Screenwall also allows architects to address the issue of backlighting and perforation size/arrangement.

“The CENTRIA panels do exactly what we want them to do,” Wilborne’s colleague and project manager Rob Anastes, AIA, observed. “They hide the stuff we don’t want to see, but still function as light and airy design elements day or night.”

These high-quality CENTRIA products helped to deliver a functional yet appealing exterior to the 8,550 sq. ft. WakeMed Central Energy Plant.