Walls & Ceilings Magazine - Annual Excellence Awards - Ceilings
NASCAR Hall of Fame Complex Office Tower Lobby, Charlotte, N.C.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Complex’s Office Tower lobby was built for NASCAR fans—people who love speed and spectacle. When fans enter the lobby, they’ll immediately see the excitement of a racetrack in the lobby ceiling. Ceilings Plus transformed its metal Radians panels into a ribbon-like shape with alternating convex and concave radii using unusually large 4½-foot-wide by 10-foot-long panels. These panels may be big, but were installed quickly, just the way the race enthusiasts would want it done. Sustainable panels of this size and shape are technically demanding, but Ceilings Plus adapted, resulting in a design masterpiece at the finish line.
Wrapping around the building facade, a large metal ribbon fuses the racetrack theme into the lobby. Entering the lobby, 22 feet above the floor, the curvilinear ceiling pops out at the spectator as it contrasts all of the space’s rectangular-shaped objects. The Grau-finished (anodized aluminum) convex and concave panels interweave, generating the ribbon-like sculptural device in the ceiling. The ribbon motif gives the space character and identity more so than anything else in the room.
Sprawling across the entire lobby area and hallways at 3,225 square feet, the panels mimic multiple lanes in a racetrack. Keeping in line with the building’s 5 foot module, the panels are each 10 foot long, and each panel spans two of the 5 feet wide window sections. Every 10 feet, the ceiling waves allude to motion, as in the waving checkered flag associated with racing culture.
The ceiling’s curvilinear shape, anodized aluminum finish, and lighting draw spectators’ eyes upward and onward. Lights highlight the unique ceiling design, further evoking the speed and spectacle of a racetrack. Ceilings Plus helped the designers integrate an innovative lighting system that incorporates uplighting and downlighting. The metal finish allows light from the lobby windows to reflect off the polished floor and walls to further illuminate the room. The intersection of the Radians panels’ metal finish and this lighting combination highlight the panel waves, making them the lobby’s main attraction.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame lobby designers were ahead of their time with this design, and had the environmental future in mind, too. Spectator’s eyes aren’t the only thing doing laps in this room—materials in the ceiling panels have been recycled over and over, making this ceiling an environmental triumph. By using the Radians recycled aluminum panels, other common ceiling elements were eliminated from the panels, helping preserve natural resources. The NASCAR Hall of Fame lobby is a highly sustainable project using a unique ceiling design that will keep racing for a long time. -Written by Jill Knepper
Project Details:
Contractor: Warco Construction
Architect: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Materials:
Ceilings Plus Radian Panels with Grau Finish
Click Here for More
NASCAR Hall of Fame Complex Office Tower Lobby, Charlotte, N.C.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Complex’s Office Tower lobby was built for NASCAR fans—people who love speed and spectacle. When fans enter the lobby, they’ll immediately see the excitement of a racetrack in the lobby ceiling. Ceilings Plus transformed its metal Radians panels into a ribbon-like shape with alternating convex and concave radii using unusually large 4½-foot-wide by 10-foot-long panels. These panels may be big, but were installed quickly, just the way the race enthusiasts would want it done. Sustainable panels of this size and shape are technically demanding, but Ceilings Plus adapted, resulting in a design masterpiece at the finish line.
Wrapping around the building facade, a large metal ribbon fuses the racetrack theme into the lobby. Entering the lobby, 22 feet above the floor, the curvilinear ceiling pops out at the spectator as it contrasts all of the space’s rectangular-shaped objects. The Grau-finished (anodized aluminum) convex and concave panels interweave, generating the ribbon-like sculptural device in the ceiling. The ribbon motif gives the space character and identity more so than anything else in the room.
Sprawling across the entire lobby area and hallways at 3,225 square feet, the panels mimic multiple lanes in a racetrack. Keeping in line with the building’s 5 foot module, the panels are each 10 foot long, and each panel spans two of the 5 feet wide window sections. Every 10 feet, the ceiling waves allude to motion, as in the waving checkered flag associated with racing culture.
The ceiling’s curvilinear shape, anodized aluminum finish, and lighting draw spectators’ eyes upward and onward. Lights highlight the unique ceiling design, further evoking the speed and spectacle of a racetrack. Ceilings Plus helped the designers integrate an innovative lighting system that incorporates uplighting and downlighting. The metal finish allows light from the lobby windows to reflect off the polished floor and walls to further illuminate the room. The intersection of the Radians panels’ metal finish and this lighting combination highlight the panel waves, making them the lobby’s main attraction.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame lobby designers were ahead of their time with this design, and had the environmental future in mind, too. Spectator’s eyes aren’t the only thing doing laps in this room—materials in the ceiling panels have been recycled over and over, making this ceiling an environmental triumph. By using the Radians recycled aluminum panels, other common ceiling elements were eliminated from the panels, helping preserve natural resources. The NASCAR Hall of Fame lobby is a highly sustainable project using a unique ceiling design that will keep racing for a long time. -Written by Jill Knepper
Project Details:
Contractor: Warco Construction
Architect: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Materials:
Ceilings Plus Radian Panels with Grau Finish
Click Here for More