Contrarian Micro Textures’ InvariMatte® stainless steel finish was selected for use as wall cladding and roofing on The Commons, the new student union at Roger Williams University (RWU) in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Contrarian’s InvariMatte® is a non-directional, uniformly textured stainless steel finish. Approximately 21,000 square feet of InvariMatte® was fabricated into flat lock wall and roof panels for The Commons. InvariMatte®, specified for its corrosion resistance, uniformity, and low-glare, and engineered to withstand the conditions of a seacoast environment, was an ideal choice for the waterfront campus.
RWU celebrated its 50th anniversary with the opening of The Commons, a 45,000 square-foot dining and meeting hall. The facility is set between the seacoast and a large green space on the campus.
Although the architectural form of The Commons is more modern than some of the campus originals, InvariMatte® allows the new and old buildings to relate. According to Dr. Ulker Copur, Professor in the School of Architecture, “The red cladding on the School of Architecture reflects softly off the metal on The Commons. On the opposite side, stands the library, which features red brick. The reds in these buildings talk to each other in this way,” continues Dr. Copur, who used the working project as a learning tool, presenting drawings of the building to her architecture classes.
Goody Clancy and Associates, Boston, MA, served as architect and A&M Roofing and Sheet Metal, Andover, MA, as the fabricator and installer.