Fabricoil utilizes interlocking coiled wire via a corkscrew method that results in variously sized fabric panels.  When installed, Fabricoil panels allow for easier ventilation so that car fumes are more easily dispersed from the cars and toward the outside of the parking garage.  Furthermore, the exterior panels protect the parking structure against damage from rain, snow and sun, while also making the journey from car to hospital more comfortable for pedestrians walking beneath the facade. 

The five-story garage will have vertical panels from the second to fifth floors and smaller sections of individual coiled wire fabric on the ground level.  In total, 40 ?” 14-gauge Fabricoil in 316 corrosion-resistant stainless steel panels will be included.

EYP Architecture and Engineering served as the project’s architect, and selected Fabricoil over other options for the exterior cladding. 

“We originally had a competitor product in mind for the Children’s Hospital project, but then were introduced to Fabricoil by the subcontractor,” Moses Waindi, senior project architect at EYP, said in a statement.  “Cascade Architectural presented a more cost-effective solution to wrapping the garage in metal mesh, and we also just preferred the inherent coiled design of Fabricoil over other products.”

The Fabricoil exterior upgrade is just one part of a $300 million multi-phase campus transformation for the Children’s Hospital New Orleans.  Other parts of the project include a new skybridge and exterior renovations to parts of the hospital’s facade.  The parking garage itself will entail 244,340 sq. ft. of space for 600 cars. 

Fabricoil’s appearance is sleeker than comparable industrial-style mesh, offering designer more aesthetic choices versus more rigid materials.  Also, its malleability allows for a greater degree of eye-pleasing possibilities compared to concrete, which is especially key to projects like the entranceways to a children’s hospital. 

From a security standpoint, the durable tension panels also secure the perimeter of the structure, and give “fall protection” for anyone who might wander too close to the garage’s outer edge. 

The parking garage was completed last year, and the entire Children’s Hospital New Orleans project is on track for a 2021 finish.  Cascade Architectural is working on the project with EYP Architecture and Engineering, contractor the Lemoine Company and subcontractor FL Crane & Sons.

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