UNL Westbrook Music Building

This was a technically demanding facade that required much more than a standard panel installation. The system was installed as a Swisspearl glue-on application using SikaTack products: surface preparation, primers, activator and cleaner, fixing tape and adhesive. Every step had to follow the correct sequence and respect the required drying and flash-off times before the next one could start.

The backside of every Swisspearl panel was prepared and primed, and the metal subframing was cleaned and treated with the appropriate Sika primer before bonding. In an adhesive facade the strength of the bond depends almost entirely on surface preparation and procedure, so none of it can be rushed to make up a day.

The architecture added a second layer of difficulty. Several walls were intentionally designed out of plumb, producing sloped and angled elevations instead of conventional vertical ones. Every panel had to be installed on its designed angle while joints stayed consistent and the architectural lines carried across the whole building.

The subframing layout was unusual as well: the Z-girts ran in the opposite direction to the Swisspearl panels, so layout, measurement and control of the installation plane all had to be resolved before a single panel could be bonded.

With a glue-on system there is almost no room for adjustment once the panel makes contact. Panel dimensions, joint spacing, elevation control, adhesive placement and alignment all have to be right the first time.

The finished elevation carries no exposed mechanical fasteners, which is the point: the geometry, the panel layout and the uninterrupted joint lines become the only thing you see.