Asheville, NC

Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architects

The LAS architectural design delivers energy efficiency, modern amenities, and compelling interactive displays for the National Park Service’s new high profile visitor’s center.  PEC’s structural design incorporates timber and steel scissor trusses to support the green roof, reinforced concrete trombe walls that combine passive heating and cooling benefits with structural support and lateral bracing for the building, composite steel floors for the assembly loads and heavy displays, and tube steel skeletons to back up the two story glass end walls.  Stop in.

Roswell, GA

Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architects

The Discovery Center will tell a story of the variety, beauty, and wonder of our local slice of the natural world.  To tell the building’s detailed architectural story, PEC developed a structural system with its own wide variety.  The structure features a butterfly roof of stressed skin panels on glu-lam timbers and steel columns, with window walls, metal studs, a reinforced cmu elevator shaft, a steel framed bi-level main floor with composite and bar joist framing over concrete foundation walls and structural steel braced frames.  Plan a visit when it’s done!

Sautee Nacoochee, GA

Robert M. Cain Architect

Architect Bob Cain envisioned a showcase with natural materials expressed and detailed to complement the museum displays.  PEC designed vaulted timber and steel chord roof trusses, cantilevered steel tube and timber canopies, a floating wood and steel entry porch, and timber and glass walls with aircraft cable bracing to match his vision.  Underneath, the more conventional engineered wood and steel beam floors support heavy displays, including even a model kiln.

Birmingham, AL

KPS Group

PEC’s structural design blends conventional wood framing with stressed skin panels, glu-laminated timbers and custom steel connections.  Supported in part by four legged inverted “quad-pods” (think tri-pod plus one) on low concrete piers, and stabilized by aircraft cable bracing, the cantilevered decks and soaring roofs nestle into and float amid the trees on a Birmingham hillside.

Douglasville, GA

Gerding Collaborative

The Visitor Center encloses nearly 9000 square feet, yet 83% of this space receives natural light and an astounding 98% has views to the outdoors.  With a vegetated green roof and one of the largest photovoltaic solar panel arrays in Georgia, it’s not hard to see how it is 51% more energy efficient than a standard building.  Structural design and detailing, including specification of salvaged, recycled, and locally sourced materials was completed in constant collaboration with the architectural and LEED objectives for the project.

Atlanta, GA

bldgs

PEC collaborated with Brian Bell and David Yocum of bldgs, inc. on this small but elegant “modern gallery intervention.”  The original carriage house construction dates to 1893, but the new systems and display structures are all 21st century.  Structural modifications include six floating steel panels - the largest of these is 7’ x 15' and pivots 90 degrees around a single pinned corner.