The Tyndall Air Force Base Fitness Center is a two-story, 75,000-square-foot-facility featuring custom blue sunshades and a radiused canopy entrance. Manufactured by Quality Metalcrafts LLC/ AMERICLAD, the AMERICLAD AC-100 custom airfoil sunshades are painted in a custom blue Kynar. While most of the sunshades are located over the windows, the most noticeable shades extend from the roof at the entrance of the building to shade the gymnasiums and curtainwall. The sunshades extend over the glass curtainwall to the canopy below, drawing attention to the entrance of the building. They can also be seen from inside the gymnasium, bringing color and design to the interior as well as the exterior. The design and construction of the building focuses on energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainability, and is the first building in the Air Force to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum rating.
The cantilevered entrance canopy was custom designed with stringent load requirements. The canopy consists of 12-inch diameter aluminum tubes, extending from the building to a 1/4-inch aluminum panel to create a decorative soffit. The 12-inch aluminum tubes have a custom silver Kynar paint finish and vary in length to create the radiused design of the canopy. Quality Metalcrafts LLC/AMERICLAD worked closely with the contractor, Performance Architectural Inc., to meet all the engineering requirements in the manufacturing of the canopy.
General contractor: Performance Architectural Inc., Pelham, Ala.
Architects: Akins (formerly PBS & J), Tampa, Fla., and U.S. Army Engineer District Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala.
Sunshades and canopy: Quality Metalcrafts LLC/AMERICLAD, Rogers, Minn., www.americlad.com
