The Challenge:
The EPCOR Tower is a 28-story office building that is soon to open in downtown Edmonton. Project architects were looking for an aesthetic way of integrating window treatment pockets around the perimeter of the building.
The Solution:
Nearly 21,000 lineal feet of Armstrong AXIOM Building Perimeter System (three-sided pocket) were installed. The Axiom pre-engineered system features an extruded aluminum pocket that bridges the transition between the interior of a building’s perimeter and the ceiling plane. The pocket also accommodates a T-bar connection clip and splice plate to provide a mechanical lock to an acoustical or drywall grid system with no visible fasteners.
Claude Bachand, co-owner of Alpine Drywall, explains that his firm presented mock-ups of various perimeter treatments to the architects, and the AXIOM system was selected. He also explains that this is the first time his firm has installed the system. The reason: significant time and labor savings.
Bachand says the crews normally would have used traditional drywall transition methods, including framing, boarding, taping, mudding, sanding, and painting. However, the AXIOM perimeter system is far less labor-intensive because it replaces all of those steps.
“We found that by eliminating all those steps, the AXIOM system was four times faster than drywall,” Bachand states. “We were able to install it in a quarter of the time. Once in place, the system requires no finishing, which makes a big difference.”
The pocket can be installed in one of two ways, either directly to a wall or free floating. “The building has a curtain wall system, so we couldn’t attach it to the exterior wall,” explains Alpine co-owner, Grant Laplante. “It had to be floating.”
Describing reaction to the perimeter system, Laplante states that the architect, owner, and crew were all impressed with the look of the pocket. “They liked it because installation was so much easier and so much cleaner.”
Project: EPCOR Tower
Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Contractor: Alpine Drywall
Products: AXIOM Building Perimeter System