CALGARY
Architectural Metal
Back pan engineering, custom perforated panel fabrication, insulation redesign for moisture control
The architect rejected standard louvers, wanting building exhaust to vent invisibly through perforated panels instead
GMP co-engineered the back pan attachment method, perforation pattern, and a moisture-safe black insulation
A first-of-its-kind exhaust solution that solves a problem no standard louver could
OVERVIEW
Evolution Glass, a commercial glazing contractor, was working on a residential high-rise where the architect had a specific problem: Standard exhaust louvers didn't fit the building's intended look.
CHALLENGE
The idea created two compounding problems.
First, the perforated panel needed to attach to the back pan, a component that's normally a sealed, integral part of the building envelope, not designed to have anything mounted to it.
Second, nobody had worked out whether a panel with a very dense hole pattern would still function as an exhaust path, or whether punching that many holes would warp the metal.
SOLUTION
GMP was involved from the earliest drawings, working through how to seal and attach the perforated panel to the back pan without compromising the building envelope, and testing whether the hole pattern could be produced without distorting the sheet.
Along the way, GMP's team caught a problem nobody else had flagged: With light passing through a perforated panel, the standard yellow back-pan insulation would be visible from outside the building. GMP proposed switching to black insulation instead.
This solved the cosmetic issue, while also prompting a closer look at moisture and mold risk now that the back pan had functioning perforations. GMP and Evolution Glass redesigned the insulation approach together to manage that risk before it reached production.
Back pan engineering for non-standard, functional (not just enclosure) applications
Custom perforated panel fabrication, validated for hole density without warping the metal
Insulation redesign for both aesthetics (black insulation) and moisture/mold mitigation
Outcome
GMP and Evolution Glass worked the design through from concept to final product.
The result gave the architect the clean, louver-free look they wanted without compromising building performance, a solution Richard credits to GMP staying involved at every step rather than simply fabricating to a fixed spec.
