Community Center Breaks with Tradition to Showcase Contemporary Design, Aluminum Composite Materials

When the Borough of Fair Lawn, NJ, recently unveiled its new community center, the contemporary, 42,000-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art facility stood in sharp contrast to its traditional brick and salt box, Cape Cod-style neighborhood. But it was all according to plan by the Borough’s Mayor and Council’s Executive Design Committee. The bright exterior of the community center, clad in gleaming, bone white aluminum composite materials (ACM) panels, echoes Fair Lawn’s new face and its commitment to the town’s future. The new $9.7 million structure replaces two buildings, a converted firehouse theater and an aging, overcrowded youth center. It houses a 170-seat theater, meeting rooms, a card room, exercise facilities, an art studio, a youth wing with full-scale gymnasium and lounge, and recreation department offices. The facility is open to all Borough residents free of charge. The architectural design of the community center features three stories with a series of white, rectangular, ground level columns that support white geometric shapes in the upper floors. Rectangular walls are topped by a large oval that surrounds the center’s walking track. Large rectangular windows flood the interiors with natural light. The contemporary exterior uses 24,000 sq. ft. of lightweight, 0.1576-in.-thick, aluminum composite panels that envelope the walls and columns. Each panel is composed of two sheets of 0.20-in. aluminum with a polyethylene core and mill edge, and weighs 1.12 lb./sq. ft. The project required a total of 316 panels in sizes measuring from 50 to 196 ins. up to 62 by 220 ins. ACM used in the panels is tested to ASTM D1781 for bond integrity. The material features a peel strength of 115 N.mm./mm. (minimum) and can withstand environmental temperature changes from -55° to +175° F. The weather-resistant panels are easy to maintain. Architect for the community center project is Studio 5 Partnership Architects/Planners, LLC, of Glen Rock, NJ. The fabricator is BAMCO, Inc., of Middlesex, NJ. The Metal Initiative (TMI), Glenview, IL