Metal Mesh Provides the Finishing Touch for VGM Group’s Iowa Headquarters by INVISION

When Kate Payne and her team at INVISION were tasked with expanding VGM Group’s Iowa headquarters, they knew the pièce de résistance would be the building’s central atrium. Rising five stories, the space boasts warm wood paneling inlaid with vertical LED lights, curvaceous balconies, and a glass elevator shaft.

It’s an impressive build, but the team felt there was one element still missing. “We needed a way to incorporate the copper paneling on the facade into the interior,” says Payne. “Ultimately we decided to make the elevator shaft the locus of that design challenge.”

INVISION turned to Cascade Architectural’s Fabricoil metal mesh to solve that problem. This coiled wire fabric provides an intriguing visual and tactile quality at a price point that allows designers to flex their “creativity muscles”. The team used a single piece of Fabricoil, which measured an astounding 3,582 square feet and seamlessly wrapped around the 360-degree vertical shaft. They specified it in a 15 gauge aluminum with an antique copper finish that perfectly complemented the building’s exterior.

“We really liked the way we could pull the curtain taut around the elevator,” Payne says. “It allows someone to see through it when they’re inside the elevator, but it’s got that unique, heavy feel of metal.  People are very drawn to it.”

The manufacturer’s customer service sealed the deal for INVISION. According to Payne, the team flat spec’ed Fabricoil for VGM’s HQ because of the expertise of Cascade’s engineers. “They were willing to work very closely with us to make the whole thing work perfectly,” she says.