The concept behind the Sky3 apartment building was to revitalize what it means to live downtown. This was a tall order when the building is located in the heart of a very progressive city: Portland, Oregon. This 15-story, 196-unit building, was designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects for the owner, The Molasky Group. The architects accomplished their goal with a combination of almost endless present-day features and amenities along with innovative green building design.
Apartments feature separate dining areas, private balconies, direct garage access, central heat, air conditioning, vinyl plank flooring, granite counter tops, and stainless appliances. Onsite accommodations include a restaurant and first-floor retail shops. The building’s fitness center boasts a Pilates studio, cardio equipment, and individual TVs. Social areas encompass a clubhouse, demonstration kitchen, game room, rooftop deck, and barbecue area. Other luxuries include a business center and conference room, wine cellar, bike repair station and storage, and dog washing.
The second key element was their use of the Innovative Green Building System (IGBS) and LEED® Silver. The IGBS system is a load-bearing and light-gauge steel framing system commissioned in its first-ever application of a 15-story building.
Ankrom Moisan specified fully adhered DELTA®-VENT SA air and moisture barrier because of its high-performance features including its high vapor permeability and tear resistance that withstands the rigors of job sites, as well as tough wind and weather. The barrier is fully adhered to the substrate, so no fasteners are required, eliminating leaks and improving the performance of the building enclosure with increased air-tightness, making it ideal for energy-efficient construction, like Sky3.
The DELTA®-VENT SA permeable air/water barrier membrane is covered by TerroCore Stone Panels and Dri-Design aluminum panels. The combined system can be expected to perform many decades, placing it toward the end or perhaps beyond the end of the 21st century.
More and more specifiers are considering the expected life of the cladding when selecting an air and moisture barrier as they realize that the life of some barriers is not as long as the projected life of the cladding. They are choosing a higher-performance barrier like DELTA®-VENT SA to minimize the risk that the barrier may fail and need to be replaced.
They also chose fully adhered DELTA®-VENT SA instead of building wrap to minimize installation errors, leaks at the seams, and holes from mechanical fasteners. The use of a fully adhered air barrier also avoided ripped and torn wraps that can be blown off by winds before the cladding is applied.