PROJECT OVERVIEW
“You have to have a live-work-play mix,” said Shane Connell, Executive Vice President and fourth generation co-owner of Connell Co. whose corporate tenants include the likes of L’Oreal USA, Hewlett Packard, and Lifetime Fitness.
Their newly opened Embassy Suites Hotel is the center of an expansive rejuvenation of the 185-acre site, adjacent to Interstate 78 and 22 miles West of NYC. Expansion plans include 328 apartments, 85,000 square feet of retail, and a public park. “The more urban you are, the more accessible you’ll be,” Connell added. “The hotel is part of a rebranding effort.” Adjacent to the hotel, The Grove, a two-acre public park lushly landscaped pedestrian-friendly urban woodland setting, will feature a great lawn, a meandering walking path, multi-level sculptural seating, the Connell Plaza amphitheater, fitness trails, outdoor basketball courts, and a dog park.
The PFVS designed hotel features 17 kinds of accommodations, including two-bedroom layouts, standards, studios, and VIP Suites. A wide array of conference rooms, banquet rooms, and the Crescent – a glass-enclosed solarium accented with crystal chandeliers, 20-foot ceilings and surrounded by an English garden with an adjacent outdoor patio. Other hotel amenities will include electric car charging ports, fitness center, and an indoor saltwater pool. “For the community around us, we’re building something that we hope that they will want to come and use,” Connell said.
PRECAST SOLUTION
After researching several envelope products, Connell and their architecture firm PFVS ultimately entrusted the SlenderWall Architectural Precast Concrete System to clad their showcase building. The contractor on the project, Tocci Building Companies enlisted SlenderWall’s Mid-Atlantic licensed producer Smith-Midland with the manufacturing and erection.
Cost-efficient, durable, and known for its long life span – with no failure issues – SlenderWall offered a wide variety of design and finish options, and provided a very viable alternative to traditional EFIS construction used by many hotel chains.
"By using SlenderWall and its cost-effective combination of durable architectural precast concrete, steel stud wall framing, and closed-cell spray foam insulation integral to the panel," said Chris Grogan, Business Development Manager, Smith-Midland, "the project was able to reduce both the on-site trade work required and the overall project schedule."
SlenderWall panels originally came to market more than 20 years ago, one of the pioneers of modular off-site composite construction. Smith-Midland’s just-in-time Lean manufacturing culture allows for delivery as panels are needed. This reduces job-site disruption and the need for long-term materials storage. Trucks are scheduled from their facility to coincide with the day’s allotment for installation.
A SlenderWall panel integrates a thin 2” architectural precast concrete face with an interior galvanized steel stud frame (ready for drywall), and closed-cell foam insulation. The application of the foam in a factory setting provides improved quality control and acts as both a continuous a thermal insulation barrier and a vapor barrier. Insulation depths on the Embassy Suites project delivered prescriptive thermal values of R-21. |