+++ press release / project reference / 11-2011 +++
CENTRA AT METROPARK Iselin, NJ, USA Category:
Office Building
Architect:
Kohn Pedersen Fox Assoc., New York
Contractor:
Tishman Construction Co., New York
Completion:
May 2011
Scope:
APG Custom Curtain Wall
WOODBRIDGE, NJ (USA) - The newest building in Metropark (NJ) is among its greenest. The refurbished CENTRA office building conducted its grand opening in May 2011 as a sign of thriving business during a troubled financial time. CENTRA is a Class A, 110,000-square-foot office building located on 19 acres in Metropark, a cluster of office buildings and a train station straddling the Woodbridge and Edison border next to the Garden State Parkway (NJ), USA. The building’s unique structure utilizes an asymmetrical tree-column and truss to support an extended fourth floor, providing a signature element. A rectangular hole is carved in the center of the suspended fourth floor, allowing the sun to shower the ground-level grand entry plaza with light. Surrounding pyramidal landscape forms further distinguish the site and help to create a dynamic visual presence for this suburban office building. The architectural design generates a strong horizontal composition of dark grey and clear glass implemented by a streamlined APG custom unitized curtain wall. The building has a LEED gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for its efficiency as well as received AIA’s New Jersey Honor Award (2011) and Engineering News Record’s award of merit (2011). Its owners, the Hampshire Companies of Morristown, purchased the former Siemens building in 2009 and broke ground on the project in February 2010. Design was by global architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, whose projects include the expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan and the World Financial Center in Shangai. Building work was done by Tishman Construction Company of New York, the construction manager of One World Trade Center. Curtain Wall & Glazing contractor APG International Inc. (Glassboro, NJ) designed, fabricated and installed the buildings glass envelope as well as provided circular tube-lights to flood the building’s interior with efficient natural light.