Northeast Classic Car Museum, Norwich, N.Y.

by Rosa Soto | 1 October 2022 12:00 am

Principle Design and Engineering PLLC designed a metal building retrofit project for Northeast Classic Car Museum with a metal composite material (MCM) façade.

Michael O’Reilly, PE, architect at Principle Design and Engineering, says, “This was a steel building that we modified to create a 1940s-1950s styled GM-like dealership façade on. We designed new exterior MCM siding panels, framing, two additions and an integral, working turntable.”

The project included 100,000 existing square feet and 1,500 new square feet.

“As avid automobile enthusiasts, purveyors of automobile Americana, when the Northeast Classic Car Museum asked us to start thinking about what could be done with the building, we were ecstatic,” O’Reilly says. “The building looked like a warehouse and didn’t look like a museum. The concept art took about three months to come up with and emulates a 1950s American car dealership.

“The absolute scale and detail of the various surfaces that make-up the exterior were so enjoyable to see. Our hope was to not only create impact when visitors drove by, but to also create a sense of whimsy, almost as though your eyes could tell a lie. To create that, one of the most critical design elements for us was the curved glass that traveled through the typical exterior corner/column areas.”

Gitzen Companies Inc. fabricated and installed 3A Composites USA Inc.’s ALUCOBOND MCM panels in HWH Bio White and Reflect Mirror. Forno Enterprises Inc. installed glazing.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/projects/northeast-classic-car-museum-norwich-n-y/

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