Linetec finishes panel system for Houston's Hess Tower – the first LEED Gold office tower in the central business district

S. Green Building Council. The 29-story, Class A office building located at 1501 McKinney Street is adjacent to the Discovery Green 12-acre park. It was formerly called Discovery Tower until Hess Corporation leased the entire 844,763 square feet.

Contributing to the high-profile tower's architectural presence, Quality Metalcrafts manufactured 40,000 square feet of 1/8-inch Americlad® aluminum panels. Linetec finished the panels in Meteor Gray Tri-Escent II, a high-performance 70% polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) coating.

"The project required extensive scheduling to accommodate the various releases per floor. Quality Metalcrafts worked very closely with Linetec to achieve the desired results. As a result, the project was right on time, if not early for each release eliminating any delays in the installation process," notes Quality Metalcrafts, LLC's president, Mike Wallace.

"The building envelope bears rigorous, daily durability challenges. Selecting an exterior architectural finish with the longest possible lifespan can be overwhelming," notes Linetec's senior marketing specialist, Tammy Schroeder, LEED® Green Associate. "Time-proven 70% PVDF coatings offer the flexibility to select nearly any color, while shielding against aging, weathering and pollution."

These coatings meet the most demanding, exterior, architectural specification AAMA 2605-11. The stringent performance criteria ensure the finishes have a long lifecycle. This reduces the need for maintenance and replacement, minimizing the associated time, cost and materials. Efficient use of resources and a commitment to sustainability is a core value at Linetec.

As an environmentally responsible finisher, Linetec safely captures and destroys the liquid paints' volatile organic compounds (VOC) content before the finished material arrives at the job site. For projects seeking LEED certification and other green goals, choosing durable products with no-VOC finishes can be an important part of the selection and specification process.

"Along with the finish's environmental and performance qualities, it needs to meet aesthetic requirements. For Hess Tower, the panels' finish accentuates the glass curtainwall as it the surrounding landscaping and neighboring buildings," adds Schroeder.

The finished manufactured panels were assembled into a unitized wall system, shipped to Houston and installed on-site by Vetro Strutture. The curtainwall system also contains high-performance glass with low-E coating for energy efficiency, daylighting and floor-to-ceiling views. Extending the office occupants' connection to the outdoors, tenants enjoy pedestrian access to Discovery Green park, a landscaped arrival court and water garden.

Gensler designed Hess Tower and Gilbane Building Company managed its construction. The high-rise broke ground in early 2008. It was the fifth U.S. project built under the national office development program established by Trammell Crow Company and Principal Real Estate Investors. Hess Corporation leased the tower in 2009 and took occupancy in 2011. The lease extends to 2026.

**

Hess Tower, 1501 McKinney Street, Houston, TX 77010

* Tenant: Hess Corporation; Houston

* Developer/investor: Trammell Crow Company; Houston

and Principal Real Estate Investors; Des Moines, Iowa

* Architect: Gensler; Houston

* General contractor: Gilbane Building Company; Houston

* Panel installer: Vetro Strutture; Italy

* Panel manufacturer: Quality Metalcrafts LLC; Rogers, Minn.

* Panel finisher: Linetec; Wausau, Wis.

* Photos courtesy of: Quality Metalcrafts, LLC

###