An Atlanta Neighborhood Receives Much-needed Health and Community Services All Under One Roof

The resulting butterfly-shaped roof is dramatically angled upward at street level. It ensures plenty of natural light can penetrate the building’s curtainwall and punched windows. The roof’s open and upward angle also metaphorically welcomes the community to the building.

Built along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, a state highway that leads into downtown Atlanta, the building would be seen by a lot of traffic.

Built along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, a state highway that leads into downtown Atlanta, the building would be seen by a lot of traffic.

“Through several models and renderings we could see that if the roof were to slope down toward the street and sidewalk it would be too dominant and all you would basically be doing is looking at the roof rather than the façade,” Deis notes. “By opening it up and splaying the roof up at the street it opened up the façade to the street. There’s a reason behind the madness!”

The roof helped the building achieve LEED Certified status, which was a goal from the beginning for Fulton County. Composed of two layers of 2.5-inch rigid insulation, the roof attains R-30.6, which exceeds ASHRAE 90.1-2007 and ASHRAE 189.1-2009. A 60-mil reinforced, white, reflective TPO membrane was self-adhered to the insulation. The membrane reflects heat away from the building, minimizing cooling costs for the facility.

Because the roof would be a major design element of the building and highly visible from the street, the design-build team desired to keep it free of as much equipment as possible. Because the team couldn’t eradicate all rooftop equipment, it created another design element to hide it. The first- and second-floor entries, which are on opposite sides of the building but at the
same location, are covered by a standing- seam “clamp”, which extends up and across the roof. On the roof, the clamp houses—and hides—mechanicals, pipes and other equipment.

“We call it a clamp because it basically wraps around the roof from one side to the next,” Deis explains. “Within it, on the roof level, we have two rooftop units and fans, so we were able to keep the roof clean.”

275 DAYS

To most, Fulton County’s requirement that the Adamsville Regional Health Center be programmed, designed and built in just 275 days for a fixed fee would be difficult and stressful. But Deis says the fast-track approach was what was most memorable and enjoyable about the project.

“Whiting-Turner was in our office when we were brainstorming and building models and talking about materials,” he says. “They gave us firsthand information about what things cost, so we didn’t waste a lot of time. We worked hand-in-hand to keep this project in budget. Then, during construction, we were out in the field often, going to the submittals to expedite the whole process. Because the process was so quick, it forced us all to work together and it worked really well. It was probably the most pleasurable process I’ve ever experienced in my 20 years in the business.”

The roof helped the building achieve LEED Certified status, which was a goal from the beginning for Fulton County.

The roof helped the building achieve LEED Certified status, which was a goal from the beginning for Fulton County.

In addition, the fast timeline ensured the Adamsville neighborhood quickly could benefit from the new health and community center—the likes of which residents had never seen. “There was a lot of pushback during design because the community had expectations based on what they see day to day,” Deis recalls. “We explained context and how well the building fits on the street, addresses the street and intersection and how it pulls all the parking into the back and gets it off the street. In the end, it’s a great building that makes a great contribution to the community. That’s why we call it a beacon for the community. Fulton County is ecstatic; the community has given us many compliments. It’s rewarding to see all the work pay off.”

PHOTOS: Jonathan Hillyer Photography

TEAM

Architect: Stanley Beaman & Sears, Atlanta
General contractors: Whiting-Turner Contracting, Atlanta, and Hermosa Construction Group, Atlanta
Roofing contractor: Peach State Roofing Inc., Lawrenceville, Ga.
Structural engineer: Uzun & Case Engineers LLC, Atlanta
Mechanical and plumbing engineer: Johnson, Spellman & Associates Inc., Norcross, Ga.
Electrical engineer: Barnett Consulting Engineers, Norcross
Civil engineer: Eberly & Associates, Atlanta

ROOF MATERIALS

60-mil fully adhered, white membrane: Sure-Weld Reinforced TPO Membrane from Carlisle SynTec Systems
Rigid insulation: HP-H Polyiso from Carlisle SynTec Systems
“Clamp” standing-seam metal: Cee-Lock Panel from Berridge Manufacturing Co.

ADAMSVILLE REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER ACCOLADES

2013 AIA/AAH Design Award, AIA Academy of Architecture for Health
2013 CMAA South Atlantic Chapter Construction Management Project Achievement Award
2012 DBIA-Southeast Region Design-Build Award, Design-Build Institute of America
LEED Certified

About the Author

Christina A. Koch
Christina A. Koch is editor in chief of Roofing.

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