The new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital by Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., has dramatically altered the skyline on Michigan Street’s “Medical Mile.” Opened on January 11, 2011, the new 440,000-square-foot facility was designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System™ criteria. The exterior features metal panels that interweave and shimmer in blue and silver. Architectural Metals Inc. of Portland, Mich., manufactured the custom-fabricated panel system, which was finished by and Linetec.

“There were 746 individual ‘wave’ panels on the project ranging from 5- to 10-feet long and 6-inches to 6-feet tall. The waves were made from 3/8-inch-thick aluminum plate,” says Chad Comps, vice president of Architectural Metals Inc.

“Finishing the material in our shop allows us to ensure consistent color, optimal performance and environmentally-responsible application,” adds Linetec’s senior marketing specialist, Tammy Schroeder, LEED Green Associate.

Linetec finished and shipped the aluminum panels in scheduled phases to Architectural Glass and Metals Inc. of Byron Center, Mich. The field team installed approximately 50,000 square feet of finished panels and integrated aluminum louvers as part of the hospital’s overall, high-performance, unitized, aluminum curtainwall system.

Photos by Eric De Witt, Lucid Architecture; courtesy of Linetec.