Designer Michael Hedgepeth with Craddock Cunningham Architectural Partners created a county-owned building, Giles County Tenant One Wheatland Eco Park in Pembroke, Va., that has space to be subleased to multiple tenants. The first tenant, NanoSonic, moved into the green business park in September. The owner and architect wanted to create a sustainable building to decrease the energy consumption of the building and, therefore, lower utility bills. This was done in part with the installation of 3,618 square feet (336 m2) of InSpire from ATAS International Inc. Finished in Classic Bronze, the aluminum wall panels were installed on one wall.
A unique product offered by ATAS, InSpire is a transpired solar collector. The precision perforations in the wall panels allow outside air to travel through the face of the panel. Solar heated air at the surface of the panel is drawn through the perforations where it rises between the two walls and enters the building’s ventilation system. The InSpire wall panel also helps in the summer by preventing normal solar radiation from striking the building’s main wall. Hot air is thermally siphoned up the wall and vented through holes at the top of the system. During the summer months, bypass dampers allow fresh air to be drawn directly into the building, maintaining indoor air quality.
“The architect and building owner realized that even without federal tax credits for the government-owned building, it made perfect sense to demand installation of the system to reduce energy cost,” said Jim Bush, vice president of sale for ATAS.
Giles County Tenant One Wheatland Eco Park, Pembroke, Va.
Builder/installer: HS Williams Co., Marion, Va.
Architect: Craddock Cunningham Architectural Partners, Blacksburg, Va.
InSpire wall panel: ATAS International Inc., Allentown, Pa., www.atas.com
