Wood veneer cladding is now being installed on TLCD Architecture’s downtown Santa Rosa Luther Burbank Savings Headquarters Branch project.  These panels, manufactured by Parklex, are a “high-density stratified timber” product.  This will be only the second concealed fastener installation of Parklex in the country; the panels are being attached from behind, with no visible fasteners in order to achieve a precise, clean aesthetic.

Parkex is a class of exterior cladding products referred to as “rear-ventilated rainscreen” systems.  The panels are installed over an aluminum framing system that is in turn installed over a waterproof membrane.  Since the waterproof membrane will keep the building dry, these panels serve a function that is strictly aesthetic. The space between the waterproof membrane is “ventilated” and is open at the top, bottom, and at panel joints.

Tim Maloney of Technical Imagery Studios in Santa Rosa is documenting the construction of Luther Burbank Savings Headquarters Branch with time sequence photography.  This “time-lapse” documentation of the construction process can be viewed at:

http://www.technicalimagery.com/proofs/lbs031212/

Don Tomasi AIA