Fiber Cement

Fiber Cement Panels
Preferred Partners: 

Material Overview:

Architects, installers and owners now have the premier fiber cement panel from Swisspearl®, combined with a fully engineered rainscreen system of ECO Cladding.  As a perferred partner, Swisspearl's ® quality fiber cement panels set the industry standard in unique, natural and timeless beauty.  ECO Cladding engineered systems give architects and installers the needed resources to design intelligent rainscreen walls that address deep cavity systems, continuous insulation and other code and industry standards.  ECO Cladding systems are also designed to give architects aesthetic freedom to incorporate concealed, lap-siding or visible attachments.

Design Considerations:

Fiber Cement is produced in sheets and fabricated into finished panels.  The designer has the ability to create varying degrees of patterns and panel shapes on the building - often using numerous colors to create intrigue and acheive a particular design aesthetic.  Most fiber cement panels are consistent in color range from panel to panel.  Air cured fiber cement is preferred for rainscreen applications and auto-claved panels are not recommedended for rainscreen wall conditions.  Off–fall of material is a key fabrication consideration, so as to maximize the panel’s yield.  Swisspearl® is the leading fiber cement manufacturer for architectural grade panels and offers a variety of large sheet sizes and a full range of medium and shingle panels.  Both concealed and exposed, color-matched rivet systems are available.

Rivermont Fire Station - Front Royal, VA

This new single-story, three-bay fire station replaces the existing station that had deteriorated due to age and was no longer large enough to support the department’s needs. ECO Cladding provided a Hci.11 subframing system for the installation of the fiber cement and metal panels . The 15,250-square-foot facility provides spaces for training, living spaces, community meeting spaces, and dedicated areas to support the county-wide fire and EMS response system and volunteer station needs.

 

Northglenn Recreational Center - Northglenn, CO

Designed by Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture, the new Northglenn Recreational Center is located on a civic campus, nestled between Highway 25 and EB Rains Jr Memorial Park and Webster Lake. The design of the center plays with pace throughout its architecture - highlighting two speeds - fast and slow. Built upon a memorial parkway, the project was conceptualized as a 'new boulevard' approach, creating a modern, engaging aesthetic while keeping the small-town feel that the committee so strongly expressed as important. For the fiber cement rainscreen panels, the design team utilized a visible rivet Hci.11 System from ECO Cladding for ease of installation using the horizontally oriented, variable depth wall brackets.

 

The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts - Beaverton, OR

Beaverton’s first state-of-the-art performing arts venue, the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts is envisioned as an iconic art and entertainment destination which will enhance the cultural and economic vitality of the suburban community.  The theater is modeled after the inside of a beaver’s home, with back-lit wood panels positioned along the wall and ceiling. Situated on a prominent, yet irregularly shaped site adjacent to the light-rail station, City Hall and Beaverton Creek, the Center will mediate between the emerging urban development and surrounding natural setting. The $51 million project was made possible thanks to the generosity of private champions and public funding. Both Alpha V and Alpha H wall brackets are incorporated into the design, forming the building blocks for the Vci.10 and Hci.10 systems.

 

University of Texas Behavioral Sciences Center - Houston, TX

Using ECO Cladding’s Alpha Wall Brackets, the uniquely inset and fabricated fiber cement feature was installed at angles that could only be accomplished using a variable-depth bracket assembly. Designed by Perkins&Will, the new 220,000 square feet Behavioral Sciences Center will bring behavioral health close to home for the Greater Houston area. From an exterior facade perspective, the project incorporates large-format, through-colored architectural fiber cement panels by Swisspearl, fabricated like puzzle pieces to create visual detailing to offset the brick expanses along the elevations. Both Alpha V and Alpha H wall brackets were incorporated into the design, forming the building blocks for the Vci.10 and Hci.11 systems.

839 Beacon Street - Boston, MA

Prellwitz Chilinski Associates reinterpreted Boston’s typical brick and bay townhouses with a striking new approach for this apartment and retail space designed for working professionals. Swisspearl fiber cement panels were incorporated in three custom colors with our Alpha VZ.10 subframing system providing the subframing backbone for the building’s contemporary facade. The sidewalk level of the building is highlighted with an attractive retail front and the residential stories are angle creating a striking pattern and movement across the main elevation of the facade.

SUNY Cortland Park Center - Cortland, NY

Flynn Battaglia Architects has delivered an award-winning renovation of the SUNY Cortland Park Center. The project is a model of the rainscreen academy, featuring Swisspearl fiber cement, terracotta and ACM rainscreen systems. The Swisspearl fiber cement section of the building incorporated a variety of panel colors and featured both a wave fabricated design and grooved panels. The unique wave pattern is a clever design for a recreation center with an indoor pool. The Swisspearl panels wereinstalled on an adjustable and thermally
broken Hci.10 subframing system.

Alice Tully Hall - Juilliard School, Manhattan, NY

The re-design of the Alice Tully Hall by FX FOWLE Architects in collaboration with Diller Scofidio + Renfro aimed to transform the Juilliard School’s premier performance venue at Lincoln Center into a beautiful and approachable music venue with a recognizable building identity. Hidden underneath the Juilliard School, the design involved revealing the Hall’s unique outer shell of natural stone and large format fiber cement rainscreen panels. The sloped underside of Juilliard’s expansion serves as an eye-catching canopy framing the hall, its expanded lobby, and box office. The design team utilized an engineered Alpha Vci.40 concealed anchor subframing system for the large format fiber cement panels for this dramatic soffit detail. ECO Cladding’s concealed anchor system was able to meet all of the critical design requirements for the project including dead loads and wind loads, providing a high-performance subframing solution for the long-term.​

Gene Haas Advance Manufacturing Center - Hudson Valley Community College

Hudson Valley Community College’s Gene F. Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills (CAMS) – is a new $14.5 million, 37,000 square foot building designed by Mosaic Associates, a Troy-based architecture firm. The center will allow the college to double enrollment in the Advanced Manufacturing Technology (A.O.S.) degree program and meet an urgent workforce demand for skilled employees in the region.

Mosaic’s design team selected Swisspearl’s fiber cement panels and a VZ.10 adjustable rainscreen subframing to clad the exterior of the building. This is the second building on the Hudson Valley CC campus to incorporate Swisspearl panels.

For a project feature by the architect click here.

238 Linden Avenue - Ithaca, NY

For this apartment building located within a brief walk from Cornell University, Ikon 5 Architects selected the high-quality Swisspearl fiber cement rainscreen facade panels and paired them with a thermally broken ECO Cladding Hci.10 subframing system. The project is a block away from the University and the growing demand for housing has created many opportunities for owners to make improvements around town. The facade incorporates four different Swisspearl colors including three metallic Reflex colors. The thermally broken Hci.10 subframing system was selected since the Alpha wall brackets allow for fewer penetrations into the air barrier. This approach offers a more thermally efficient wall design and is compliant with continuous insulation requirements. College housing... taken to a whole new level!

 

Marriott AC Hotel - Bridgewater, NJ

BASE4 Architects designed the new Marriott AC Hotel with a Swisspearl fiber cement rainscreen facade and a thermally-broken ECO Cladding Vci.40 sub-framing system. For this modern hotel chain, Swisspearl’s Avera and Carat series were selected to provide a high-quality, maintenance-free exterior façade. For the panel subframing, the adjustable Vci Alpha brackets are thermally broken and create an engineered wall solution. 

ECO Cladding provides fully-engineered system-based solutions, in which both cladding and substructure are engineered to accommodate project wind loads, seismic loads, building slab to slab deflections, and thermal movements of materials. The 1.5” adjustability of the Alpha Vci bracketed system allowed for a fast and worry-free installation.

For a project feature by the architect click here.

Available Systems

Alpha Vci.10 System

Alpha Vci.10 System

Panel Subframing system that offers visible rivet fixing for fiber cement, HPL or fiber concrete panels. Rivet attachment guarantees high pull-out values and ease of installation.

Alpha Vci.40 System

Alpha Vci.40 System

Panel Subframing system that offers fixing using concealed, undercut anchors for cement composite, ceramic, stone, HPL and fiber concrete panels. The back of each panel is pre-drilled using undercut drill bit to receive the hanger clip and expanding bolt anchor.

Alpha Hci.10 System

Alpha Hci.10 System

Panel Subframing system that offers visible rivet fixing for fiber cement, HPL or fiber concrete panels. Rivet attachment guarantees high pull-out values and ease of installation.

Alpha Hci.11 System

Alpha Hci.11 System

Panel Subframing system that offers visible rivet fixing for fiber cement, HPL or fiber concrete panels. Rivet attachment guarantees high pull-out values and ease of installation.

Alpha Eci.11 Rainscreen System

Alpha Eci.11 System

Panel Subframing system that offers visible rivet fixing for fiber cement, HPL, or fiber concrete panels using our Alpha E edge-to-edge wall bracket. Large spans can be achieved due to a solid supporting beam recess. Rivet attachment guarantees high pull-out values and ease of installation.

Alpha Eci.40 System

Alpha Eci.40 System

Panel Subframing system that offers panel attachment using concealed, undercut anchors for cement composite, ceramic, stone, HPL, and fiber concrete panels using our Alpha E edge-to-edge wall bracket. Large spans can be achieved due to a solid supporting beam recess.

Recent Projects

This new single-story, three-bay fire station replaces the existing station that had deteriorated ...Read More
Designed by Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture, the new Northglenn Recreational Center is located on ...Read More
Beaverton’s first state-of-the-art performing arts venue, the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts is ...Read More
Using ECO Cladding’s Alpha Wall Brackets, the uniquely inset and fabricated fiber cement feature ...Read More
Prellwitz Chilinski Associates reinterpreted Boston’s typical brick and bay townhouses with a ...Read More
Flynn Battaglia Architects has delivered an award-winning renovation of the SUNY Cortland Park ...Read More
The re-design of the Alice Tully Hall by FX FOWLE Architects in collaboration with Diller Scofidio ...Read More
Hudson Valley Community College’s Gene F. Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills (CAMS) – is ...Read More
For this apartment building located within a brief walk from Cornell University, Ikon 5 ...Read More
BASE4 Architects designed the new Marriott AC Hotel with a Swisspearl fiber cement rainscreen ...Read More
SLAM Collaborative - CT has designed another eye-catching rainscreen design with the new ...Read More
Designed by Payette, the Northeastern University Pedestrian Bridge intends to connect the main ...Read More
FXFOWLE Architects, designed SUNY Purchase’s new 75,000 SF Center for Integrated Technology ...Read More
Drummey Rosane Anderson (DRA) designed the new Staff Sergeant James Hill Elementary School with ...Read More
Arrowstreet designed a 230-unit, 220,000-square-foot residential building as a part of the ...Read More