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Neopariés Preserves Modern Aesthetic of Celebrated
One Park Place Building
Challenge:
In Kansas City, Missouri, One Park Place building, formerly known as the BMA
Tower, has been a landmark since Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) designed
it in 1961. In 1985, the building’s original white marble cladding began to warp
from the corners, causing several panels to fall from the building.
To preserve the building’s famed Modernist appearance and maintain its dramatic
presence in the Kansas City skyline, Black & Veatch, a local engineering,
procurement and construction firm was tasked with replacing the dilapidated
marble with an aesthetically similar, yet structurally improved cladding material.
Solution:
The firm selected white Neopariés®crystallized glass ceramic panels from
Technical Glass Products (TGP). The panels have a lower thermal expansion rate,
meet stricter engineering guidelines and are lighter and stronger than natural
stone, making them an ideal cladding material for a building subject to Kansas
City’s extreme temperature changes and harsh weather conditions. Aesthetically,
the crystallized ceramic panels have a bright, smooth appearance that closely
resembles One Park Place’s original marble. Today, after more than 25 years,
Neopariés crystallized glass ceramic panels are still keeping the exterior of
Kansas City’s landmark One Park Place in top form for city residents.
“I periodically have a crew
wash as much of the
Neopariés as they can
without hanging over the
side of the building,” said
Mike Gunter, facilities
manager, in a company
project write-up. “The
only other maintenance
required is the monitoring
of the caulking.”
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