Summary: The Anne Springs Close Greenway “Gateway” Welcome Center opened in the fall of 2019 to welcome guests to the 2,100-acre nature preserve and outdoor recreation site in Fort Mill, SC.  The new 6,300-square-foot welcome center provides a “front door” for first time visitors and returning guests to the area.  Mid-way through construction during a rainy spring season, the architect and general contractor realized that a different building enclosure system was needed – one that could be installed in wet conditions – in order to prevent the project from falling further behind schedule. Once they learned about ArmorWall Vapor Permeable (VP) Structural Insulated Sheathing™, they knew it was the right material for the job. 

Building Type: Multi-Use Municipal building, new construction

Need: A building enclosure system that could be installed during a rainy spring season to avoid further construction delays and meet the target opening date.

Solution: 2” ArmorWall Vapor Permeable (VP) Structural Insulated Sheathing^TM represented by Anchor Company and CarolinaREP

Architect: 505 Design

General Contractor: Myers & Chapman

Installer:  Incentive Contracting

Story:  The Anne Springs Close Greenway “Gateway” Welcome Center opened in the fall of 2019 to welcome guests to the 2,100-acre nature preserve and outdoor recreation site in Fort Mill, SC.  The new 6,300-square-foot welcome center provides a “front door” for first time visitors and returning guests to the area.  The Gateway provides a large open lobby serving as a reception area with additional space for retail merchandise, educational classrooms, staff offices and dining areas.

The Gateway was designed and built with many eco-friendly features in mind that reflect the Greenway’s mission and caring for the environment. The Gateway’s sustainability story is incorporated into ongoing education programs for visitors and area school students. The building’s green features include passive daylighting, roof-mounted solar panels, a high-efficiency HVAC system, radiant-floor heating system, rainwater collection cisterns, zero-VOC paints and materials, an indoor air energy recovery unit, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and movable glass walls that open to the outdoors providing fresh air.

An exterior masonry façade requiring fluid-applied air and water barrier systems had been originally specified for the project.  However, as weeks of construction delays began to pile up due to the inability of these components to be applied and dried during the wet season, another system was needed.

Anchor Company and CarolinaREP introduced the architect and general contractor to ArmorWall VP by building a mock-up on-site to demonstrate how easily ArmorWall could be installed in wet conditions.  In addition to this unique feature, the quick construction of the mock-up illustrated ArmorWall’s many added benefits including improved flexibility for the cladding materials and significant additional time and cost savings.

More Information:

• Click here for an article about the Welcome Center’s opening from Scoop Charlotte.
• Click here for an article on the Welcome Center’s sustainability features from Charlotte Business Journal.
• Click here for a case study on the project from architect 505 Design.
• Click here for an article on the project from general contractor Myers & Chapman.