Hello, Arktura team! I’m thrilled to introduce myself as the new President of Arktura and to join this incredible company at such an exciting time. With 30 years in the building products industry, I’ve always gravitated toward companies that thrive at the intersection of design and innovation—a passion embodied in everything we do here. Together, we’ll take Arktura to new heights, pushing our growth and creative boundaries further than we ever thought possible.
In the coming months, expect a continuous flow of new designs and innovations from our hardworking product development team, returning us to the heart of Arktura’s roots. While my focus so far has been internal, I’m excited to begin conversations with our customers, who are architects, designers, and contractors, soon. Let’s finish 2024 strong, and remember, my door is always open to each of you.
Amy Hahne - President | Arktura
Table of Contents
Project Spotlight - 180 W Tasman Dr
Video Spotlight - Mychal’s Place
Throwback - NFL Studios
Events
Marketing Highlights
Coming Soon: Overcast Collaboration
Coming Soon: GeoSound™ Diamond
Tours
Sustainability
AWI Collaborations
Culture - Pinewood Derby
Arktura in the Wild Industry News
HQ Updates
CASE STUDY
180 W TASMAN DR
Originally specified in 2017, this full-scale project, comprised of interior and exterior solutions, showcases Arktura’s full capability. The architectural magic of Arktura is on display from the moment you see the building’s stunning exterior facade, which highlights the building’s address in custom perforated panels.
180 W Tasman Blvd in San Jose, CA, was an ambitious project that took years to complete. Given the number of Arktura products found throughout, it’s no surprise why. Fong & Chen were the architects of this project, while our reps, MODE, and installers, Gidel & Kocal Construction Co and LHL Construction, provided additional support.
Home to: County of Santa Clara - Technology Services and Solutions
Location: San Jose, CA
Project Scope/Scale (SqFt): 6100 SqFT
Architect: Fong & Chan Architects
Rep: MODE
General Contractor: Gidel & Kocal Construction Co
Installer: LHL Construction
Featured Products:
Atmosphera® Analog 3D, Delta Drop®, Graphic Perf®
Exterior, SoftFold®, Vapor® Pixel
As mentioned above, the building’s exterior features a custom Graphic Perf® Exterior facade. Tailored perforated panels span two stories, stretching from the ground up. These panels also feature the building’s address number 180, which was made utilizing our Photoreal Process.
Upon entering the building, guests and employees are treated to even more dazzling perforated designs, as the lobby/front desk area features Vapor® Pixel panels. These illuminated panels seamlessly transition from ceiling to wall, creating an immersive viewing experience.
The various conference rooms and offices feature a trio of Arktura systems, both decorative and functional. SoftFold® in heather grey and Atmosphera® Analog 3D, finished in a natural wood print, provide acoustic coverage in collaborative areas. Delta Drop® delivers a faceted, geometric ceiling to one of the other conference rooms.
In keeping with Arktura’s technological prowess, this building now houses the County of Santa Clara— Technology Services and Solutions.
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT
MYCHAL’S PLACE
In Sparks Vol 3, we highlighted a special project that was near and dear to the hearts of us here at Arktura: Mychal’s Cafe. As a refresher, Mychal’s Cafe is run by Mychal’s Learning Place. This local nonprofit organization helps young people with developmental disabilities learn life and work skills through their enterprises, such as the cafe.
Since then, their newest location in Redondo Beach has finally opened to the public. This new space features the first installation of our latest SoftGrid® Rosette module in the field. Watch the video below to learn more about this project and the organization.
THROWBACK NFL STUDIOS
The NFL season is in full swing, and we hope your favorite team is still in playoff contention. To celebrate football season, let’s look back at our complete project at the NFL Media Center, which is part of NFL Studios in Inglewood, CA.
The dynamic studio for the NFL Media Center is located near SoFi Stadium, the home of the Rams and Chargers. Arktura was chosen to provide a visually stunning and practical acoustic system for the project, which is visible on camera in NFL Network shows like “Up to the Minute.”
SoftFold® offers high-quality acoustic properties, allowing it to reduce excess noise, which is crucial in a media studio. These modules are also above an active working office, so maintaining a quiet and productive work environment was top of mind for this project.
EVENTS
September 15-17 - re:Source
Dove Mountain, AZ - Steven
September 17 - Dreamforce 24
Sales, Marketing and Tech Team
September 15-17 - Metropolis Connect
Dove Mountain, AZ - Patricia
September 25 - YDC
Washington, DC - Celia &
October 23 - Metropolis Arch30
Bridgette
Los Angeles - Amy & Steven
MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS
Social Content
If you are following Arktura on social media (and why wouldn’t you? We are @ArkturaLLC on most networks), you may have noticed a refresh in our content style. In addition to sharing our beautiful project photos and videos highlighting our incredible capabilities, we have also been sharing more of our team.
The marketing team has been hard at work creating a variety of content for our socials, including educational videos with our very own John Johnston and Aaron Robin or videos of PM’s like Nicolas Pappas sharing his favorite project.
Be sure to follow us if you haven’t already, links below! https://linkin.bio/arkturallc/
PRINT ADS
Textron Systems - Interior Design
Fall Market Tabloid
North Bend Elementary - Interior Design
Soft Sound® Vivids - Metropolis
COMING SOON
OVERCAST COLLABORATION
Arktura has partnered with Overcast Innovations, an innovator in architectural solutions, to expand its offerings. Starting in December, Overcast will launch three new perforated panel Silhouettes designed by Arktura—Radia, Horizon, and Dappled—for their modular Cloud ceiling system. These designs will be available exclusively through Overcast, enhancing their product lineup.
Dappled
COMING SOON GEOSOUND™ DIAMOND
Later this month, we will announce our newest acoustic ceiling system, GeoSound™ Diamond. This angular, geometric ceiling cloud is made of our Soft Sound® material and can be installed as a standalone system or grouped to create exciting new geometric arrays. Stay tuned for more details when this launches to the public in late November.
TOURS METROPOLIS
In August, we welcomed the team from Metropolis Magazine to Building Zero for a complete tour of our offices and factory.
FORMAS INC.
On September 19th, the team from FORMAS Inc. in Florida was treated to a full tour of Arktura. VP Patricia Hoffman guided Monica Camponovo and the team around our HQ.
SUSTAINABILITY
Arktura Outlines Sustainability Goals in Comprehensive Overview Source for Product Details
As part of our growing commitment to sustainability and transparency, we are publishing a comprehensive Sustainability Performance Overview. This highly detailed one-page report highlights each of our system’s sustainability information, including recycled content and any sustainable accreditations, including Declare Labels, HPDs, and more.
AWI COLLABORATIONS
New Manager Essentials Leadership Program
Lancaster, PA
Daniel Zambrano, Christian Montanari, Jason Lee, Tanner Whitney, Alicia Martin, Celia Navarro, Aaron Robin, and Eric Lopez.
CULTURE
PINEWOOD DERBY
We hosted our 5th Annual Pinewood Derby at HQ this past August, bringing together our team from the office, factory, and Ark Studio virtually through Teams. After enjoying some delicious BBQ, our team gathered to begin voting on the Most Arktistic and WTF cars of this year’s lineup. After voting concluded, we hosted a series of heats to crown the fastest and, for the first time this year, the slowest cars!
Our livestream featured multiple camera angles and was hosted by Eric Lopez in full Ricky Bobby attire. As Mr. Bobby famously said, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”
Congratulations to this year’s winners:
Most Arktisitic - Anthony Ortega
WTF - Collin Jimenez
Fastest - Luis Bazan
Slowest - German Carbone
Watch the full video recap here:
ARKTURA IN THE WILD
Arktura Employees Spot Our Products in the Wild!
Last year, the marketing team created a guide highlighting Arktura projects local to the Southern California region, encouraging you all to visit these sites, capture yourself there, and send them to us to be featured in what we call “Arktura in the Wild!”
Our incredible team members have been busy exploring the built environment and spotting Arktura products making a real-world impact.
Candy McDowell & Kelly Frame Atmosphera® Adaptive Lotus Vitria Event Center – Colombus, OH
Allison Le - Developer I Graphic Perf® Solutions SFO Terminal 3 - San Francisco, CA
Do you have a knack for spotting Arktura products in your daily travels? We want YOU to be part of the next Arktura in the Wild adventure! Snap a picture of an Arktura installation you encounter and submit it to the Marketing Team. Your contribution could be featured in the next edition of Sparks, and you’ll help us celebrate the fantastic places where Arktura makes a difference. To help guide your adventures, you can download the So Cal Project Guide here: Let’s keep exploring and showcasing Arktura’s reach together!
Mychal’s Cafe - Redondo Beach, CA
Eric Lopez - Content & Technical Manager & Alicia Martin - Head of Engineering
INDUSTRY NEWS
Architectural Design Trends 2024: Innovations in Sustainability
As we reach closer to the end of this year, we look back at some of the design trends predicted to take over 2024. Aside from bright colors and multiuse spaces, one of the design trends we couldn’t avoid was Sustainable Design. A strong emphasis on sustainability, adaptability, and human wellbeing defines the 2024 architectural landscape. Key trends include:
• Sustainable and Eco-friendly Designs: Architects are increasingly using recycled and eco-friendly materials like reclaimed wood, bamboo, cork, and recycled plastics to minimize environmental impact.
• Energy-efficient Technologies: The integration of solar panels, geothermal heating, and smart building automation systems is reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
• Adaptive Reuse and Renovation: Repurposing existing structures to extend their life and reduce waste, such as New York City’s High Line, which turned an abandoned railyard into an elevated park space.
• Biophilic Design: Incorporating natural elements enhances people’s wellbeing and creates healthier indoor environments. For example, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco features a living roof covered in native vegetation, providing habitat for local wildlife and reducing energy consumption through natural insulation.
These trends highlight a shift towards more responsible and innovative architectural practices that prioritize the planet and its inhabitants. View the full article here
HQ UPDATES
Arktura Goes Electric!
Work has been completed on the installation of eight (8) Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) around Building Zero. As part of our ongoing effort to be a more sustainable company and support our employees with electric vehicles, Southwest Industrial Electric (SIE) installed chargers in both the front parking lot and on the West side of the Metal Building. Arktura employees with electric vehicles can now recharge their cars while at work!
