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Like a protective shell, curtain wall systems defend buildings from the elements, resisting air and water infiltration and even seismic activity, allowing natural light to penetrate deeper into the structure while adding architectural beauty. Since 1978, Midwest Curtainwalls has been designing custom-fit solutions for these complex systems, meeting the ever-changing needs of architects, owners, developers, glazing contractors and curtain wall consultants.

For almost 40 years, Midwest Curtainwalls has been designing, engineering, testing and manufacturing curtain wall systems that perform to the highest industry standards. The Cleveland-based company tackles jobs of all shapes and sizes while upholding each designer’s vision through aesthetic excellence, technical precision and second-to-none quality assurance.

The First to Tackle a Challenge

Today, the company takes on some of the most challenging projects in the region, a direction Don Kelly, now president of Midwest Curtainwalls, led the firm nearly four decades ago. “I grew up in the glass and glazing business,” reveals Kelly. “My grandfather founded Sterling Plate Glass and Paint Company in 1922, the same year my father was born.”

Kelly wanted to follow in his family’s footsteps, but on a larger scale. “Before Midwest Curtainwalls was established, the company was known as Midwest Architectural Metals [MAM], a subcontracting business,” he recounts. “I wanted to change that and do things on a bigger scale, high-rise buildings and larger contracts.” And that is what Kelly has done.

“Since I joined the company in 1975, almost all of

our business has been outside of Cleveland on large-scale buildings,” continues Kelly. “We eventually got out of the installation business and limited the company’s scope exclusively to designing, engineering and manufacturing.”

While Midwest Curtainwalls remains Cleveland-based, Kelly says the company’s reach has grown extensively. “Now we could find ourselves in any large city in the U.S., from Los Angeles to Boston, Detroit to St. Louis,” he shares. “We have also done jobs in Hong Kong, Spain and London… there are a lot of buildings out there with our signature on them.”

Midwest CurtainwallsPutting the Best Face Forward through Custom, Comprehensive Façades Produced by Lindsey McKenna & Written by Molly Shaw

George Mason University School of Law Arlington, VA rchitect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

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Midwest

A Signature Touch

Midwest Curtainwalls adds its signature through customization, upholding the most demanding specifications with collective expertise and comprehensive design, engineering, structural analysis, scheduling, project management, on-site technical support, thermal simulations, laboratory testing, fabrication and assembly of factory cladding, packaging and freight.

“The projects other curtain wall manufacturers might shy away from – the ones that pose special engineering challenges or need to be completed in a tight timeframe – those are the ones that Midwest Curtainwalls welcomes,” says Kelly. “In fact, we specialize in them.”

From Chicago to Boston, Midwest Curtainwalls has delivered a range of specialty-made structural solutions. “The UNO Charter School in Chicago is one of our hallmark projects,” details Kelly. “This unusual and interesting façade on a three-story high school was designed using glass and stainless steel geometric shapes to simulate the body of a lizard.

Glazing Systems

Waterproofing and Drainage Systems

Exterior Sealant Systems

Air Barrier Systems

Deck Coating Systemsand Membranes

Firestopping Solutions

Transition Systems

We offer continuity at all interfaces, resulting in reduced energy consumption, increased occupant comfort and good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), longer facility life, and lower life cycle costs.

CONTACT US TODAY!www.tremcosealants.com | 800-321-7906

Transforming the Built Environment into a High-Performance Environment

Tremco Commercial Sealants & Waterproofing offers the most comprehensive building envelope protection in the industry today with a product offering spanning the foundation to the roof: below-grade waterproofing systems, air barrier systems, traffic coatings, high-performance sealants, comprehensive glazing systems, firestopping solutions and engineered transition assemblies – all formulated and tested to ensure compatibility and long-term performance. The Tremco Building Envelope Solutions Team (BEST) and knowledgeable local sales representatives work with all those in the design/construction process to facilitate integrated design and construction critical to ultimate sustainability – from product selection and shop drawing review to testing, installation sequencing and on-site assistance. This singular focus provides single-source accountability and a problem-solving approach that is pioneering advances in sealant/waterproofing technology and air and moisture management, setting new standards for performance, and allowing increased flexibility in project design and construction schedules.

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The project was completed in record time, from March 15, 2011 to July, 21 2011, which is a very short amount of time to design and build a custom curtain wall system.”

At the Education First Center in Cambridge, Midwest Curtainwalls is in the midst of delivering a fairly normal 110,000-square-foot glass façade for most of the building and a faceted glass waterfall in varying planes on the south and east elevations. “It’s truly an amazing structure,” shares Kelly. “Even though it’s a fixed glass and aluminum façade, it looks like water falling over the building and splashing to the side in every direction. We’re on track to finish this system by May or June 2014. We really enjoy projects like this that are geometrically complicated. And we like doing something we’ve never done before.”

A few miles away in the heart of Boston, Midwest Curtainwalls has designed a 27-story project for Boston University’s Student Housing Phase II. “This project has more than 2,200 curtain wall units designed to reduce energy usage and attenuate sound,” notes Kelly.

Kelly says the projects keep rolling in. After coming through the economic slump, Midwest Curtainwalls is in a great position for growth. “Things were stagnant for bit,” admits Kelly. “We just launched our new website and new company brochure. Business is moving along steadily. I see an opportunity to increase our backlog and build ourselves up. We’ve added key people to our line-up, including Lisa Lococo Smith, our marketing director, and the construction markets are looking good, especially in New York and Chicago. Right now, we are chasing a big, high profile project in San Francisco.”

Midwest Curtainwalls continues to improve, taking on some of the most difficult curtain wall projects. “Every one of our jobs has a different set of design and engineering challenges, but that’s where we shine,” adds Kelly. “While making sure we follow the architect’s aesthetics, we also provide a system that performs and endures.” For nearly 40 years, Midwest Curtainwalls has helped a series of big buildings put the best face forward by delivering custom solutions and striking façades. •

Custom Metal Fabrication

Omni Fab is your one source for custom architectural aluminum, bronze, and stainless steel fabrication. Omni Fab has extensive experience in custom metal fabrication. This experience has allowed us to successfully undertake unusual projects, those not customarily seen or thought of.

822 Anderson Street, New Kensington, Pa. 15068Phone: (724) 334-8851 www.omnifabinc.com

Custom Metal Fabrication

ALUMINUM • BRONZE • STAINLESS STEEL

We cut, form, weld, and finish metal with quality workmanship and standards.

We cut, form, weld, and finish metal with quality workmanship and standards.

Grand Millennium Plaza Wing Lok, Central Hong Kong, Architect: Hsin_Yieh Architects & Associates

Little Britain Complex, London, EnglandArchitect: Fitzroy Robinson & Partners

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