VMZINC :: blueplate PR

VMZinc Announces Winners of the Archizinc Trophy Awards

Categories: Umicore Building Products, VMZINC
Comments (0)

Reflecting the concept “Zinc at the Heart of Architectural Creativity”

June 26, 2012 (Paris, France) – The 10 winners of the fifth VMZINC® Archizinc Trophy awards program, sponsored by the Umicore Group, were unveiled this month at the Terrass Kardinal in Paris.

This bi-annual competition for architects requires that the submitted designs use VMZINC solutions in original projects. VMZINC is the international rolled zinc products brand manufactured and marketed by Umicore Building Products USA, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Winners included six projects in the categories “Private Housing,” “Commercial Buildings,” and “Public Buildings.

Four special honors were also named for “Sustainable Building,” “Daring,” Internet Users Choice” (in which the public cast votes), and “Jury’s Special Award.”

Representing 19 different countries, architects submitted 118 projects that were assessed by a jury comprised of 11 international professionals (architects, journalists and an engineer). Nicola Leonardi, editor-in-chief of The Plan magazine, chaired the jury.

The jury used three fundamental criteria to determine the winners:

1. Architectural quality — the original expression of each project and the emotion generated

2. Integration into the site — the suitability of the project in terms of environment, urban planning, topography and climate

3. Innovation — highlighting zinc, its functionalities and performances.

The Archizinc Trophy winners were, by category:

Individual Housing: Winner — Fabien Chavignaud Architecte for a Private House in Carquefou (France); Special Mention — Brian Bell – BLDGS for the Ansley Glass House in Atlanta, Georgia (USA)

Commercial Buildings: Winner – Dean Marchetto/Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects, for the Extension, Architecture Studio, Hoboken, New Jersey (USA).

Public Buildings: Winner – Ulrich Junk/Junk & Reich Architecten for Historical Library, Augustinian Monastery, Erfurt (Germany); Special Mention 1 – Cheng Dapeng/Beijing New Era Architectural Design Ltd., for Yungang Grottoes Museum, Datong (China); Special Mention 2 – David Mackay & Francisco Gual Trajine/MBM Arquitectes for Casa Dels Xuklis, Llars Mundet (Spain).

Sustainable Building: Jean-Philippe Thomas Architectes for Luis Ortiz Secondary School, Saint Dizier (France)

Daring: Steve Woodland, Cabinet Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland for Entertainment Centre, Albany (Australia)

Internet Award: Diego Garcia Munoz Vaquero/Prieto + Vaquero Arquitectos y MCCL Arquitectos for Centro Sociocultural, Agron (Spain)

Jury’s Special Award: John Ronan Architects for the Poetry Foundation, Chicago, Illinois (USA).

“The diversity of countries, types of buildings, and architectural styles confirmed yet again the role of zinc in contemporary architecture,” said Daniel Nicely, managing director of Umicore Building Products USA. “This noble material is natural, recyclable, requires very little maintenance and provides a lasting environmental solution. It features excellent mechanical properties that make it suitable for almost all climatic conditions. VMZINC systems offer a broad diversity of applications, provide the perfect response to current architectural trends, and rise to the technical challenges of our time.”

The winners, representatives from the Umicore Group, and all members of the awards jury attended the presentation ceremony. Each winner received an Archizinc Trophy, an actual work of art in zinc.

The winning projects will be published next October in a special issue of FOCUS ON ZINC magazine. Approximately 65,000 copies of the magazine are distributed over 10 countries, offering winners the opportunity to have their work published worldwide.

For more information on the Archizinz Trophy, visit www.trophee-archizinc.com. For more information on Umicore Building Products and VMZINC, go to www.vmzinc-us.com.

About VMZINC / Umicore Building Products USA:

Umicore is a world-leading producer of VMZINC® architectural zinc. For over 160 years, Umicore has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, NC. For additional information, visit www.vmzinc-us.com and the Facebook pages “VMZINC,” “VMZINCresidential,” and “VMZINC for Architecture.”

“Focus On Zinc” Spotlights Residential Applications Around The Globe

Categories: Umicore Building Products, VMZINC
Comments (0)

The 12^th edition of VMZinc’s international magazine is now available.

April 17, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – VMZINC® has published the twelfth edition of “Focus On Zinc,” its international architecture magazine that showcases examples of zinc wall and roof applications around the globe, including modern, innovative private homes in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Poland, and Denmark.

VMZINC is the brand name for the architectural zinc manufactured by Umicore BuildingProducts USA.

“A brief journey through the pages of this issue of ‘Focus on Zinc’ confirms a trend that has been established over a number of years,” notes Senior Vice President Pierre Van de Bruaene in the magazine’s introduction: “Applications of our material to the facades of buildings are becoming increasingly predominant.”

Building types featured in this edition range from large cultural arts centers and educational facilities to office buildings, private homes, and even Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. The latter, designed by Jag/RoTo Architecture, features exterior walls of VMZ Flatlock panels in red PIGMENTO®.

Zinc-clad home in Cincinnatti, designed by Jose Garcia.

The private home in Cincinnati that’s featured in this edition demonstrates architect Jose Garcia’s style of combining raw materials with experimental installation and modern architectural expression. He specified QUARTZ-ZINC® and ANTHRA-ZINC® in Dri-Design cassettes for the exterior, which define the house’s volumes and provides the homeowner with a surface cladding that requires little to no maintenance.

The design of a private home in Silkeborg, Denmark, was inspired by Japanese Origami and expressed through the use of VMZ standing seam panels in ANTHRA-ZINC for the roof. The façade is composed of black-stained wood strips. This atypical contemporary house was designed by architects 3xN & M2.

The most ambitious project in this edition, however, is an office building in France that uses VMZ standing seam and flatlock panels in QUARTZ-ZINC to contribute to architect Cabinet Jourda’s zero-energy-use target. Chosen for its durability and recyclability, VMZINC is a key element of this building sustainability.

“Focus On Zinc” is published in Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish. To request a copy call VMZINC’s USA headquarters at 919.874.7173 or email a request to: Info@vmzinc-us.com.

About VMZINC / Umicore Building Products USA:

Umicore is a world-leading producer of VMZINC® architectural zinc. For over 160 years UBP has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects, and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, NC. For additional information, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

VMZinc Upgrades Its Websites Around The Globe

Categories: Umicore Building Products
Comments (0)

With an emphasis on uniform, user-friendly navigation and more access to product information.

February 24, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – VMZinc®, Umicore Building Products’ brand for architectural zinc, has revamped its websites around the globe to give all of them the same look, the same user-friendly and uniform navigation capabilities, and to include more extensive information.

According to Chandra Hester, marketing director for Umicore Building Products USA, the new VMZinc sites “make it easier for a customer in France or Shanghai to navigate through the American website, and the same for someone in Canada to use the French website.”

This ease of navigation is important, she said, because not every country carries the same product range. This allows customers to more easily order VMZinc products from another country.

“The new sites are more user-friendly with a cleaner look,” Hester said, “making it easier to download details, find important information to answer any zinc questions, and to specify jobs within a few clicks.”

In addition, the new homepage for each country now has much more information, making it easier to access information in fewer clicks.

“And we have our social media links — Facebook, Twitter, the ZINCsense blog, and our new YouTube channel — displayed throughout the entire website,” Hester pointed out.

Also on the right hand side of the homepages, potential customers will find useful information pertaining to each of VMZinc’s systems, including project photos, installation guides, specification, details, and magazines featuring the product in award-winning projects.

The text throughout the site has also been carefully edited to be as concise and easily understood as possible.

To see the improved VMZinc websites, go to www.vmzinc.com, click on “VMZinc worldwide,” then click on the country.

About Umicore Building Products USA, Inc.

Umicore is a world-leading producer of architectural zinc. For over 160 years Umicore has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects, and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, NC. For additional information, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

Umicore Ranks in Top 10 of the World’s Most Sustainable Corporations

Categories: building products, business, news, Umicore Building Products, VMZINC
Comments (0)

Based on key performance indicators, such as innovation, diversity, and eco-friendly productivity.

January 26, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — Umicore, a global materials technology group and the parent company of Umicore Building Products USA in Raleigh, NC, has been included once again in the top 10 of the world’s most sustainable companies.

Corporate Knights, an independent magazine focused on promoting sustainable development, published the rankings this week.

The “Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies” ranking is based on key performance indicators such as innovation, diversity, and productivity related to a set of environmental factors. Ranked eighth out of 100, Umicore was praised for the significant role the company plays in the metal recycling chain and the development of materials for clean energy applications.

This accolade follows Umicore’s recent inclusion in the innovative Living Planet Green Tech Index launched by WWF, the Living Planet Fund Management Company, and Chevreux.

Umicore is also a long-standing component of the FTSE4Good index, which measures performance of companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards.

“The inclusion of Umicore in these rankings and indices is a recognition that our strategy and business philosophy do meaningfully address the priorities of society today,” said Umicore CEO Marc Grynberg. “We have a strong focus on products and services that provide environmental benefits, such as recycling, automotive catalysts, and materials for rechargeable batteries. This is complemented by ambitious objectives to further improve our environmental and social performance.”

“It is great to be involved with a company that takes a strong stance on sustainability, as well as representing an architectural product that contributes to that equation,” said Daniel Nicely, market development director for Umicore Building Products USA, the manufacturer of VMZINC® architectural zinc.

For more information on Umicore’s sustainability strategies and practices, visit www.umicore.com/sustainability.

For more information on Umicore Building Products, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

About Umicore:

Umicore is a global materials technology group. It focuses on application areas where its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy makes a real difference. Its activities are centered on four business areas: Catalysis, Energy Materials, Performance Materials, and Recycling. Each business area is divided into market-focused business units offering materials and solutions that are at the cutting edge of new technological developments and essential to everyday life. For more information: www.umicore.com.

About Umicore Building Products USA:

Umicore is a world-leading producer of VMZINC® architectural zinc. For over 160 years, Umicore has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects, and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. For additional information: www.vmzinc-us.com.

Two 2012 AIA Honor Award Winners Feature VMZinc Exteriors

Categories: Uncategorized
Comments (0)

Architectural zinc adds to beauty, sustainability of two projects.

The Gates Center

January 17, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — Two of the nine projects from around the world that recently received 2012 Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) feature VMZINC® exteriors.

The award-winning Carnegie Mellon University’s Gates Center for Computer Science and the Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies were designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects of Atlanta, Ga., with attention to energy and water conservation and other sustainable practices.

The centers’ zinc exterior skin and distinctive window openings differ from the predominately yellow brick, historically influenced buildings on the CMU campus. Yet the jurors believed the zinc skin and window openings “surprisingly relate beautifully to the campus fabric without being literal.”

Last year, both centers received LEED® Gold certification. The use of architectural zinc contributed to the certification because zinc is manufactured using very little energy, it lasts an average of 80 years with very little maintenance, and it is completely recyclable, both during construction (construction scraps) and at the end of its use.

Another award-winning project with a VMZINC exterior is The Poetry Foundation in Chicago, designed by John Ronan Architects. The building’s outer layer is VMZINC’s black ANTHRA-ZINC®. Since transparency was an important issue in the design, the ANTHRA-ZINC is perforated where it borders the garden, allowing visual access to the garden from the street. Inside the garden, the zinc screen wall internalizes the garden experience and provides a sense of removal.

The Poetry Foundation was featured in Architectural Record in November prior to winning one of this year’s AIA Honor Awards.

“We talk a lot about the sustainability of zinc but there’s also the aesthetic quality,” said Daniel Nicely, director of market development for Umicore Building Products USA, the manufacturers of VMZINC. “Architectural zinc allows architects to easily create interesting and innovative forms. We’re proud that our product played a major role in the striking design and sustainability of both of these award-winning project.”

For more information on the 2012 AIA Honor Awards, go to www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2012/architecture.

For more information on VMZINC, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

About Umicore Building Products USA, Inc:

Umicore Building Products is a world-leading producer of architectural zinc. For over 160 years, Umicore has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, NC. For additional information, visit www.vmzinc-us.com. VMZINC also maintains the blog ZINCsense (www.zincsense.com) and an active Facebook page.

VMZinc Gets Renewed Notice of Approval from Strict Regulatory Department

Categories: building products, business, construction, environment, news, sustainability
Comments (0)

Miami Dade approves Umicore Building Products’ standing seam metal roof systems for hurricane zone.

December 6, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) — Miami Dade County’s Permitting, Environment and Regulatory Affairs department has renewed its Notice of Approval (NOA) for the VMZINC® Double Lock Standing Seam (VM DLLS) metal roofing system, Laurent Heindryckx, Director of Operations for VMZINC/Umicore Building Products USA, announced recently.

Miami Dade County requires an NOA for any manufacturer who wants to sell its products on projects located in the Miami Dade area of Florida.

“Miami Dade set the most stringent requirements with regards to wind loads and water penetration,” Heindryckx said. “Having this NOA is proof that our panels can sustain hurricane force winds.

Umicore’s VM DLSS (NOA No.: 11-0812.04, Expiration Date 11/16/2016) is classified on the Miami Dade website as appropriate for a “high velocity hurricane zone.”

The VMZINC standing seam metal roof system features a double folded seam. The low height of the seams (1”) contributes to the modernity, lightness, and regularity of the roof and facade, while highlighting its architectural purpose.

“For more complex designs, this system presents a more technologically advanced appearance,” said Daniel Nicely, VMZINC’s Director of Market Development.

Nicely also noted that Umicore’s standing seam technique is particularly suitable for very large roof and facade surfaces and for structures located in regions of harsh climates, like mountain or continental climates, which are often subject to strong winds, heavy rain and snowfall.

“Having the Miami Dade NOA renewed shows that the quality of VMZINC’s architectural building products remains consistent,” Nicely said.

Heindryckx added: “The NOA can be used as a sales argument anywhere in the US to demonstrate the effectiveness of our product even in brutal hurricane zones.”

For more information on the Miami Dade NOA, go to www.miamidade.gov/building/pc-search_app.asp. Select Umicore Building Products USA Inc. in the field “Applicant.”

For more information on VMZINC, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

About Umicore Building Products USA, Inc.

Umicore is a world-leading producer of architectural zinc. For over 160 years, Umicore has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, NC. For additional information, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

VMZINC® Enjoys Record Attendance at Expo CIHAC

Categories: architecture, business, construction, events, green architecture, news
Comments (0)

L-R: Juan Clavel, Veronica Valderrama, Esperanza Munguía, Lili Martinez, and Francisco Jover.

November 21, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) — If attendance at the VMZINC® booth at Expo CIHAC last month is any indication, Mexico will be a thriving market for Umicore Building Products, as the global company anticipates.

Expo CIHAC is the premier event in Mexico and Latin America for the building, construction, and housing industries. Held at Centro Banamex in Mexico City, the show features building materials, machinery, equipment, hand and power tools, building systems and prefabricated technologies, financial services, real estate, finished houses, insulates, piping, and more. Expo CIHAC also includes various technical seminars about the latest challenges and trends of the industry.

Architect Juan Clavel of Aldbanta Arquitects and the NOW Specialities, Inc., agent in Mexico, manned the VMZINC booth assisted by Francisco Jover, VMZINC Director of Sales in Spain.

The booth featured all of Umicore’s VMZINC architectural zinc products, including ALPOLIC composite zinc by Mitsubishi Plastics Composites American, Inc., using NOW’s zinc composite rainscreen systems.

According to Verónica Valderrama, coordinator of Mexico-Sales, attendance was “incredible. This was only our second year exhibiting at Expo CIHAC. The first year we had over 500 registered visitors to our booth. This year we had over 1000 registered visitors. Total attendance for the show has not been released, but the previous year was over 50,000.”

Expo CIHAC attracts exhibitors from all over the world and is attended primarily by people in the industries from Mexico, Central and South America.

“With our Mexican companies’ work experience in the past and the interest in our products at this year’s expo, we believe Mexico will be a great market for VMZINC,” Valderrama said.

For more information on VMZINC, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

For more information on Expo Cihac, go to www.cihac.com.mx/.

About Umicore Building Products USA, Inc.

Umicore is a world-leading producer of architectural zinc. For over 160 years Umicore has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, NC. For additional information, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

Umicore Building Products Holds Open House in New Headquarters

Categories: architecture, building products, business, construction, green architecture, modern architecture, news
Comments (0)

November 15, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Umicore Building Products USA, manufacturer of VMZINC® architectural zinc, held an open house together with its parent company Umicore USA in its new North American headquarters at 3600 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 1.

Umicore invited site managers from North America as well as corporate executives from global European headquarters to the open house, along with customers, clients, and other companies with whom Umicore does business.

UBP North American President Norbert Schneider and Daniel Nicely, Associate AIA and Director of Market Development, welcomed 150 guests as they toured the company’s new 15,000-square-foot headquarters.

Other company VIPS in attendance included Ravila Gupta, President of Umicore USA; Martine Verluyten, Former Chief Financial Officer of Umicore; LudoVandervelden, Chief Financial Officer of Umicore; and Denis Goffaux, Chief Technology Office of Umicore.

Catering Works catered the event.

For more information on Umicore Building Products and VMZINC, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

About Umicore Building Products USA, Inc.

Umicore Building Products Wins Project of Distinction Award

Categories: architecture, building products, construction, environment, green architecture, modern architecture, news
Comments (0)

American Builders Quarterly praises Gateway Center project.

The Gateway Center features extensive use of VMZINC architectural zinc.

November 2, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) — American Builders Quarterly magazine (ABQ) has chosen the Gateway Center at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York, as a Project of Distinction in its 2011 Building Excellence Awards.

Umicore Building Products USA (UBP) entered the 70,000-square-foot project in ABQ’s annual competition since it features extensive use of VMZINC® architecture zinc. Umicore, UBP’s global parent company, is a world-leading manufacturer of architectural zinc.

Designed by Ennead Architects LLP of New York with Worth Construction as contractor, the Gateway Center’s building materials integrate the structure with the existing fabric of the campus and establish a new signature building for the College. Fieldstone at the base of the building resonates with historic buildings on campus, while offices and classrooms, cantilevered over a base of structurally glazed walls, are clad in VMZINC (installed by Barrett Roofing).

“We received entries from all over the nation, but [Umicore’s] stood out as an exemplary work in keeping with the best aesthetic and pragmatic traditions of architecture, engineering, and construction management in the United States,” said ABQ features editor Geoff George.

“We are honored to receive the American Builders Quarterly award,” said Dan Nicely, Director of Market Development UBP. “And we are very proud to be associated with such a great project by the very talented designers at Ennead Architects.”

The project is featured in ABQ’s November-December edition.

The Gateway Center also recently received a national award from the Metal Construction Association for “the exceptional use of metal in innovative architectural designs.”

Now in its fifth year covering America’s construction industry, American Builders Quarterly provides an industry-specific look at high-quality companies spanning all aspects of the building trade. For more information on ABQ and to download the digital edition, go to http://americanbuildersquarterly.com.

For more information on Umicore Building Products USA and VMZINC®, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.

About Umicore Building Products USA, Inc.

Umicore Building Products Wins Three National Awards

Categories: architecture, building products, business, construction, green architecture, modern architecture, news, sustainability
Comments (0)

For the exceptional use of metal in innovative architectural designs.

October 19, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) — Umicore Building Products USA received three national Metal Construction Association (MCA) Chairman’s Awards this year for the exceptional use of metal in innovative architectural designs.

In the Residential category, Umicore Building Products (UBP) received the 2011 MCA Chairman’s

The GREENville House

Award for Kristi and Bobby Walters’ “GREENville House” in Greenville, North Carolina. Designed and built by Tonic Design + Construction of Raleigh, NC, the exterior cladding of this modern, thoroughly “green” house is a mix of brick veneer, vertical cedar panels, and VMZINC® architectural zinc. Metal Worx was the installer.

UBP received the MCA Chairman’s Award in the Educational category for the Gateway Center at Westchester Community College In Valhalla, New York. Designed by Ennead Architects LLP of New York with Worth Construction as contractor, sustainable design strategies including the choice of materials: VMZINC, stone and glass. Barrett Roofing was the metal installer.

Finally, UBP received the MCA Chairman’s Award for Municipal design for the Nebraska Public Power

Gateway Center, Westchester Community College

District’s new Norfolk Operations Center in Norfolk, Nebraska. Designed by HDR, Inc., with J.E. Dunn Construction Co. as contractor, the LEED-Gold project utilizes UBP’s patented Dri-Design® panels for 12,887 square feet of VMZINC’s Anthra Zinc in addition to aluminum and copper. SGH, Inc., was the metal installer.

The Chairman’s Awards are an annual designation given to outstanding building projects involving MCA member companies. The awards honor innovation and creativity while showcasing how metal products contribute to exceptional building designs.

“We are honored to receive three awards from the MCA this year,” said Dan Nicely, Director of Market Development UBP. “And we are proud to be associated with such great projects by incredible architects

Norfolk Operations Center

such as HDR, Ennead, and Tonic.”

The award ceremony took place on Tuesday, October 11, during this year’s METALCON International convention in Atlanta. Pierre Van de Bruaene, Umicore’s Corporate Senior Vice President for the building products division, Norbert Schneider, President of Umicore Building Products North America, and Dan Nicely received the award.

For more information on Umicore Building Products and VMZINC, visit www.vmzinc-us.com. For more information on the Metal Construction Association and the MCA Chairman’s Awards, go to www.metalconstruction.org.

About Umicore Building Products USA, Inc.

Archive for: VMZINC