News & Updates
MARCH 2022 Research & Development
KORSA™ Aggregate Finishes
TAKTL A|UHPC has the highest impact resistance of any thin cementitious panel used in architectural applications today, with the certified test results to prove it. TAKTL Architectural Ultra High Performance Concrete (A|UHPC®) facade panels are recognized by architects and owners for their unparalleled range of design options. Performance in extreme conditions, however, is a critical and not as well-known part of the TAKTL story.
JULY 2021 Product News
New Standard TAKTL Texture: Itero™
With the most diverse A|UHPC® texture collection available, TAKTL redefines standards for beautiful surfaces that come without the burden of custom costs. Designed in collaboration with our in-house mold fabrication team, Itero maintains the refined surface of TAKTL Ultra High Performance Concrete and adds a clean, repeating rib profile.
JUNE 2021 Product News
Extreme Impact Resistance
TAKTL A|UHPC has the highest impact resistance of any thin cementitious panel used in architectural applications today, with the certified test results to prove it. TAKTL Architectural Ultra High Performance Concrete (A|UHPC®) facade panels are recognized by architects and owners for their unparalleled range of design options. Performance in extreme conditions, however, is a critical and not as well-known part of the TAKTL story.
NOVEMBER 2020 Research & Development
Introducing TAKTL SC+
While TAKTL’s standard products have consistently been the highest performing among peers in cementitious cladding, TAKTL’s Research & Development group continues to design and test new, even higher performance A|UHPC mixes and methods. One of the most exciting results is TAKTL SC+, the first self-cleaning, antimicrobial, and environmentally beneficial A|UHPC facade panel.
MAY 2020 Project Updates
Corrugated Cardboard Creates ‘Corduroy’ Concrete
“An all-glass facade would have been too dramatic a departure for such a location. “We wanted to tell the story of a building,” Leininger said, “that would appear undoubtedly contemporary, yet would speak to some of the qualities of historical Tribeca, and that would look domestic.” -Francois Leininger, Post-Office Architectes, Author: John Hill, world-architects.com
More than 900 panels — some as large as 11′ x 3’6″ — cover the building, with over 70 molds required for the different sizes and interactions with the four types of windows. Consistent across the precast panels is the texture, which was achieved, Leininger said, “by casting concrete over strips of corrugated cardboard laid at a 45° angle.” The goal was “an ever-changing facade,” dependent upon lighting conditions, time of day, and position of the observer. To Leininger, “the panels look at times crafty and mineral, and at times soft and light like corduroy.”
FEBRUARY 2020 Project Updates
Exterior Work Progresses on 329 Broadway in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
“Exterior work is moving along on 329 Broadway, a 17-story mixed-use building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Designed by Syndicate Architecture and developed by Parkview Management, the 195-foot-tall reinforced concrete structure spans 175,000 square feet and will contain 63 units, more than 59,000 square feet of retail area on the first two floors, and around 24,500 square feet of community facilities on the third and fourth floors. JLJ Capital recently provided $57 million in financing for the project.” – Author: Michael Young, New York Yimby
TAKTL Architectural Ultra High Performance Concrete panels are installed as a part of a rainscreen system enveloping 31,000 sq. ft. of the main tower. The custom-designed ribbed texture, in Platinum 75, creates a chevron-like effect as the rib patterns mirror their direction when they reach a new plane.
AUGUST 2019 Project Updates
Post-Office Architectes Stamps Tribeca With Corrugated Cardboard Concrete Framework
“Thanks to its very fine grain, UHPC typically allows all kinds of textures,” said Post-Office Architects Co-Founder Francois Leininger. “Rather than creating a complicated texture using readily available digital processes and having to deal with the constraints (repetition, uniformity…), we wanted to create something crafty, something that would look a bit handmade, something with a unique feel. This was our way to pay tribute to the magnificent cast-iron architecture across the street and all around Tribeca.” -Author: Matthew Mara, The Architect’s Newspaper
The facade is Architectural Ultra High Performance Concrete (A|UHPC®) manufactured by TAKTL in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. TAKTL was uniquely suited for this project because of its ability to execute custom formwork with exceptional surface fidelity, coupled with its extremely high strength and durability, integrating 30 Warren into the fabric of Tribeca’s heavy stone facades that gracefully stand the test of time. UHPC’s tightly packed matrix makes it impervious to water migration, allowing it to endure the most challenging environmental conditions. TAKTL collaborated with Post-Office Architectes to achieve the design intent using a series of corrugated cardboard elements, executing the finished facade with TAKTL’s in-house mold technologies and automated casting capabilities.
JUNE 2019 Project Updates
Children’s Kennedy Outpatient Center by HKS Architects Garners Acclaim
Recently completed Children’s Kennedy Outpatient Center, by HKS Architects, has been awarded 2018 and 2019 AIA Richmond Design Award for Excellence (Honor and Merit) with additional publication as a 2019 Healthcare Design Showcase Award Finalist. The project features a rainscreen assembly with 12,380ft² TAKTL A|UHPC® panels in Smooth, Rough 1, Crinkle, and Reeds textures in White and Platinum color.
Photo by Tom Harris
DECEMBER 2018
University of Toronto DFALD, Wins Architects’s Newspaper 2018 Best of Design Award for Education
University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design (DFALD), by NADAAA, was honored with Architect’s Newspaper 2018 Best of Design Award for Education design. Custom aggregate TAKTL A|UHPC® panels are featured on DFALD’s Eastern and Western elevations in a dynamic scaling pattern.
OCTOBER 2018
Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab Wins 2018 AIA National Innovation Award
Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab, by Shepley Bullfinch, was one of two projects selected for the 2018 AIA National Innovation Award. TAKTL A|UHPC® standard white panels, in Smooth, Rough 2 and Reeds textures, were installed during the off-site prefabrication process. Modular units were shipped from Pennsylvania to their final destination in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the units were assembled on-site.
SEPTEMBER 2018
McDonald’s Chicago Flagship Featured on Archdaily
McDonald’s new Flagship in Chicago, by Ross Barney Architects, incorporates TAKTL A|UHPC® custom graphic panels, cladding the exterior drive-through and interior elevations of the modern facility engineered with LEED Platinum performance and sustainability in mind.
SEPTEMBER 2018
Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab Wins 2018 AIA Award of Excellence
Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab, designed by Shepley Bulfinch and built offsite in a sophisticated modular construction facility, has been announced as one of eight winners of the 2018 AIA Award of Excellence for Education Facility Design. The Life Lab was designed with standard white TAKTL A|UHPC® panels in three unique textures. The smooth, rough, and linear textures accentuate the material’s natural color variation and create stark and subtle visual effects in differing light conditions.
AUGUST 2018
Ultra High Performance Concrete: A Type of Cocrete You Haven’t Heard About, But SHould
Joe Nasvik of Concrete Contractor examines the characteristics TAKTL Architectural Ultra High Performance Concrete introduces to the building market, making it an ideal material for prefabricated modular and unitized curtain wall systems.
AUGUST 2018
Rutgers University, Camden Nursing and Science Building, Features TAKTL Panel Rainscreen Cladding in Terracotta
“The Perkins Eastman–designed Rutgers University project balances site-sensitive design with a bold architectural statement for the school’s (and city’s) future.” -Heather Corcoran
APRIL 2018
TAKTL Team Presents at 2018 BEST5 Conference in Building Enclosure Science and Technology
Sponsored by the National Institute of Building Sciences, the BEST5 Conference showcases new research and leading practice in building enclosure technologies. TAKTL had two invited speakers at the conference this year, presenting technical papers in their respective areas of expertise.
AUGUST 2018
Projects With TAKTL Win AINY Awards
The American Institute of Architects, New York (AIANY) recently announced their award winners for this year, and two of them use TAKTL. The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) by Freelon Adjaye Bond / SmithGroupJJR was awarded best in competition, and the University of Toronto Daniels Building by NADAAA won an honor award.
For design renderings and additional photography of the University of Toronto Building, visit the NADAAA website.
Wallpaper Best Cultural Buildings | December 2017
SUMA MAKES LIST OF TOP BUILDINGS THAT SHAPED CULTURE IN 2017
Brooks + Scarpa’s popular project continues to earn praise as one of the year’s most significant structures.
Click
herefor the complete list.
Architectural Record | November 2017
THE BRIDGE BY WEISS/MANFREDI AT CORNELL TECH
Featured in Architectural Record, Weiss/Manfredi’s campus building ambitiously combines facilities for tech businesses and engineering students, using TAKTL panels as angular wrapping in the atrium where the mingling occurs. In a space that Architect Marion Weiss calls her firm’s “biggest single move.” TAKTL provided a custom white color and mediablast finish that suit the restrained energy of the project.
Check out the full article here.
Architect Magazine, Architect’s Newspaper, ArchDaily | November 2017
BROOKS + SCARPA’S SOUTHERN UTAH MUSEUM OF ART CAPTURES WIDE ARCHITECTURAL COVERAGE
Brooks + Scarpa’s Southern Utah Museum of Art, whose dramatic roof cantilevers and plunges in tribute to nearby canyons and mountains, uses TAKTL’s Arbos panels in White for its distinctive low-relief facade. ARCHITECT cites “formal and material creativity” as well as the project’s ability to “achieve some savings through the use of precast panels.” Architect’s Newspaper compares the panels to “the texture of a sheer cliff face.” For ArchDaily, the building is a “true cultural destination.”
Check out the full articles at Architect Magazine, Architect’s Newspaper, and ArchDaily.
Architect Magazine | October 2017
WASILLA PUBLIC LIBRARY FEATURED IN ARCHITECT MAGAZINE
Architect ECI used TAKTL panels to realize this Alaska building that the client envisioned as a “library in the woods.” TAKTL is well-suited to meet exacting project requirements stipulating minimal maintenance and high thermal performance in a unitized curtain wall system with factory-quality construction.
Check out the full article here.
Los Angeles Times | September 2017
LOS ANGELES TIMES FEATURES WESTFIELD CENTURY CITY MALL $1 BILLION RENOVATION
The Los Angeles Times ran a feature on the comprehensive renovation to the Westfield Century City Mall complex, where TAKTL panels in a backlit rainscreen assembly are a foreground element in one of the complex’s most visible facades.
Check out the full article here.
Archdaily | September 2017
CAMPUS OF THE DIGITAL AGE EXAMINES THE BRIDGE BY WEISS/MANFREDI AT CORNELL TECH
The Bridge at Cornel Tech in New York City by Weiss/Manfredi is part of ArchDaily’s portfolio article on the cutting edge multi-university campus on Roosevelt Island. TAKTL panels that include a custom color and media blast finish are a feature of the atrium that architect Marion Weiss called “a crystalline social condenser.”
Check out the full article here.
Archdaily | July 2017
251 FIRST STREET CONDOMINIUMS FEATURED ON ARCHDAILY
251 First, designed by ODA New York, is clad in a combination of TAKTLSTANDARD+ and TAKTLSTANDARD A|UHPC facade panels. It “is ODA’s latest manifestation of its steadfast commitment to improving quality of life in urban areas,” as a development in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood. The TAKTL panels on each balcony feature stone aggregate in Titanium, available in the TAKTLSTANDARD program. The floor and window-separating panels expose the same aggregate in custom-molded designs with Smooth and Rough 3 textures.
Check out the full article and 40+ project images here.
Architectural Record | July 2017
SWEDISH EDMONDS AMBULATORY CENTER FEATURED IN ARCHITECTURAL RECORD HEALTHCARE
NBBJ’s design for the Swedish Edmonds Ambulatory Center in Edmonds, Washington is featured in Architectural Record’s focus on healthcare issue this July. TAKTL was specified for the exterior entrance cladding and interior lobby spaces. In the article, NBBJ designer, Brian Uyesugi describes, “‘We tried to find materials and products that would help describe that movement and sedimentation.'” The design team specified Arbos 2 panels to achieve this intent.
Click here to read the full article.
Architect’s Newspaper | July 2017
LEARN MORE ABOUT TAKTL AT FACADES+AM AUSTIN
TAKTL will be represented at the Architect’s Newspaper Facades+AM Austin event July 18. Our Project Development Manager will be available to answer questions about A|UHPC ventilated wall assembly cladding, as well as a variety of exterior and interior architectural applications.
Click here to register for the event.
AIA New England | December 2016
HAMILTON COLLEGE AND BINNEY STREET PROJECTS PRESENTED 2016 AIA NEW ENGLAND HONOR AWARDS
Two Northeast US projects, featuring TAKTL ventilated facade panel cladding, were celebrated in 2016 AIA Honor Award programs. The Hamilton College Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts, designed by Machado Silvetti, won an AIA New England Honor Award (Institutional), and 75-125 Binney Street, designed by Payette Associates, won an AIA New England Citation Award (Commercial).
Click here to see all the AIA New England Honor Awardees.
Alberta Construction Magazine | December 2016
BANFF GONDOLA UPPER TERMINAL RENOVATIONS WINS PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
The Banff Gondola Upper Terminal Renovations were recognized in Alberta Construction Magazine’s Top Projects, winning People’s Choice and Commercial Under $50 Million awards. This project posed a unique challenge for material sourcing. All materials were transported to the site atop Sulphur Mountain by helicopter or gondola. (Image courtesy of orangegirl.com)
Click here to see all the all of the Top Projects winners.
AIA Pennsylvania | November 2016
AIA PENNSYLVANIA HONORS TAKTL WITH 2016 ALLIED PROFESSIONS AWARD
In November 2016, TAKTL was honored with the 3rd annual Allied Professions Award. The award was presented for TAKTL’s contribution to the built environment and the company’s commitment to uphold the tenets of design, sustainability and collaboration. Previous recipients include Mascaro Construction (2015) and Langan Engineering & Environmental Services (2014). The TAKTL Team accepted the award at the AIA Pennsylvania’s 2016 Architectural Excellence Design Awards Event.
Click here to check out all the award winners.
Architect’s Newspaper | October 2016
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SCHOOL OF FRESHWATER SCIENCES FEATURED IN ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER FACADES+
Facades+ revisited the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, academic building completed in 2015. Natalie Gentile, associate principal at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, “said the panels played a significant role in producing the water-inspired visual effects she sought: ‘I’m really pleased with how the TAKTL panels are performing in terms of meeting our architectural goals for replicating the way water reflects light under different lighting conditions.'”.
Click here to read article.
Modelo | August 2016
MODELO FEATURES TAKTL’S DESIGN DIRECTOR IN DESIGN MANIFESTO
TAKTL Design Director, Jason Flannery, was profiled by the team at Modelo his impact on the development of VECTR Research’s UHPC manufacture and applications. Jason details how his personal design background and the strengths of TATKL’s team have impacted the company’s success and acceptance of UHPC in the architectural market. “Just five years ago there were very few architects in the U.S. who had worked with UHPC. Like any other “new” material there is a learning curve to really maximizing its potential. Now that we are working with architects on their second and third projects we are really starting to see a better understanding of how the material can be used and pushed in new directions.”
Click
here to read the article.
Architectural Record | May 2016
TAKTL WINS ADVERTISING EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR 2ND YEAR IN A ROW
At the AIA Convention in Philadelphia, PA, TAKTL was honored with the ARCHITECTURAL RECORD 2016 Advertising Excellence Award for its January advertisement featuring 75-125 Binney Street (Architect: Payette Associates). Award jurors represented a wide spectrum of architectural firms including: HOK, DIGSAU, Erdy McHenry Architecture, SITIO, and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, who appreciated TAKTL’s editorial style.
Click
here to check out all the award winners.
Architect Magazine | March 2016
TAKTL FEATURED IN ARCHITECT TECH + PRODUCTS
ARCHITECT revisits TAKTL, 2011 R+D Award winner, to learn about the company’s progress in developing Ultra High Performance Concrete for architectural applications.
Click here to read the full interview with Design Director, Jason Flannery.
Forbes | March 2016
NEW CONCRETE MATERIALS ARE MORE GREEN THAN GRAY
Forbes / Tech explores new concrete materials and features TAKTL’s model to minimize the environmental footprint for producing Ultra High Performance Concrete.
Click hereto read the full article.
TAKTL | February 2016
TAKTL EXPANDS INTO A HISTORIC MANUFACTURING PLANT & ANNOUNCES NEW R&D FACILITY IN PITTSBURGH
Five years ago, we banded together as an interdisciplinary team of business leaders, architects and innovators to launch TAKTL, the United States’ first Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) manufacturing company that specializes in durable, versatile, and visually compelling architectural facade panels and architectural elements. Today, TAKTL is 120 people and an international leader in the market for UHPC panels, and our products can be seen on high-profile projects all over the Americas.
Click hereto read the full article.
Goodwill of Southern Pennsylvania | October 2015
TAKTL TEAM NAMED WINNER OF 2015 POWER OF WORK AWARD
The TAKTL Team is one of four winners of the Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s 2015 Power of Work Awards, selected from over 130 nominated companies. The award honors employers and organizations for their efforts in support of workforce development for individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment.
Click hereto read the full article.
AIA Pittsburgh | October 2015
3 PROJECTS WITH UNIQUE TAKTL APPLICATIONS HONORED AT DESIGN PITTSBURGH 2015
The Cathedral Campus (Strada Architecture, LLC), School of Freshwater Sciences (Bohlin Cywinski Jackson with Continuum Architects + Planners), and Chatham University Eden Hall Campus (Mithun) were celebrated for their design merit at the AIA Pittsburgh Design Pittsburgh 2015 awards.
Click here to read the full article.
Breaking Ground | July 2015
TAKTL FEATURED IN BREAKING GROUND
Western Pennsylvania’s magazine for construction and real estate professionals, Breaking Ground, takes an inside look at TAKTL’s exciting development as the company celebrates 5 years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Click here to read the full article.
ArchDaily | May 2015
ARCHDAILY INTERVIEWS TAKTL
In “Material Minds: The Possibilities of Ultra High Performance Concrete,” TAKTL leaders weigh in on the environmental and performance advantages of their facade and wall panels, as well as announce the launch of a new R&D company, VECTR Research.
Click here to learn more.
Architizer A+ Awards Finalist | April 2015
TAKTL WINS 2015 ARCHITIZER A+ AWARD
TAKTL Facade Panels win the third annual Architizer A+ Awards Building Products: Facades category. Finalists were selected by a jury of over 300 professionals including architects, cultural leaders, artists, and technologists.
Click here to learn more.