Modern buildings in historically traditional, southern cities can often pose challenges for architects. However, Studio A found the perfect solution to blend the two together – CUPACLAD’s natural slate systems.
Studio A Architecture in Charleston, South Carolina “has been internationally recognized for its transformations of local historic patterns, textures, materials and building types into stellar contemporary architecture.”
President of Studio A, Whitney Powers, was introduced to CUPACLAD in 2017 by a client who was interested in the product for a project in Downtown Charleston.from the elements, and withstand the test of time – CUPACLAD’s team of salesmen and technical specialists are ready for your call.
The building needed to meet the historic integrity of the area while still maintaining the contemporary feel of the existing building. Powers loved the idea of using natural slate as a façade because it has a long history of being used as a building material and many historic buildings in Charleston have slate roofs.
“We wanted to use materials that had historic connections but use the product in a new way. Our plan was to make a point that a modern building could still fit in with the city’s beauty by using a simple yet historic product.” And Powers did just that! . Powers felt that the CUPACLAD rainscreen system had a ton of flexibility and the installation wasn’t outside of the capabilities of local construction teams.
After falling in love with the appearance and simple way of attaching the product to the façade, the team never considered anything else for the façade of the building. The system Studio A chose for the Off Line Court façade was CUPACLAD’s 201 VANGUARD, a rainscreen system including visible clips. Associating natural slate with steel give the façade a unique, modern touch.
This particular cladding system stands out due to its stainless-steel clips, which are slightly visible at the bottom, contrasting with the natural slate. The system is also easy to install due to the metal rails featuring small holes to mark the exact position of clip placement.
Powers stated she had a great experience with CUPACLAD from shipment to installation and is looking forward to utilizing the product on future projects.
