Metal fabric panels add upscale touch to Century 21 parking garage

Cambridge, Md. Versatile woven metal fabric panels from Cambridge Architectural visually and functionally enhance the exterior of a new parking garage serving Century 21, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

In the spirit of its commitment to high-end merchandise and style, Century 21 chose clean and sophisticated metal fabric from Cambridge Architectural as exterior cladding for its new parking garage.

Cambridge’s Parkade architectural mesh system dresses the structure’s exterior in vertical panels placed alternating distances away from the building’s concrete shell. The result is an engaging exterior cladding that slightly undulates, adding unique interest and flow to the parking garage’s overall look.

While Cambridge’s metal fabric panels certainly make a decorative statement, the system they comprise also contributes a great deal to the garage’s operational needs.

“We were looking for a material that could effectively provide screening, fall protection and ventilation,” says Edward Bredow, Associate with SBLM Architects, the architect of the project. “Cambridge’s mesh performed all of these functions while visually offering a unique in-and-out pattern to give the flat-wall texture and relief enhancing our design concept.”

For the Century 21 parking garage, Cambridge specifically engineered a Parkade system for the building’s exterior to assure a streamlined installation and a look that complemented the architect’s overall design concept.

The Parkade system was fabricated with mesh in Cambridge’s Mid-Balance pattern, which features large-scaled, flexible open weaves that shade and screen structures including facades, parking garages and pavilions.

Construction on the Century 21 parking garage was completed in fall 2009. The project team consists of architect SBLM Architects, New York City; contractor/installer E.W. Howell Co., LLC, Woodbury, N.Y.; and facility owner Century 21 Department Stores, New York City.