For more than 50 years Archbishop Rummel High School has been a landmark in Metairie, La. Welcoming students since 1962, the school has withstood countless hurricanes over five decades. However, when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the building finally began to show some wear and tear.

In 2014, the school approved replacement of the deteriorated steel exterior with an aluminum and glass facade. To span the two-story height of the building, the system would have to be curtain wall. That began a joint effort between Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects & Stallings Construction Company. LFS Glass & Glazing LLC was chosen to serve as the glazing contractor for the project.

The contractors knew that any products used would have to meet modern building codes, which had changed dramatically since 1962, including standards for hurricane impact resistance. The easiest fix would be to install a standard hurricane impact rated curtain wall. However, existing structural steel and floor lines restricted the system depth to 5-1/4”, or narrower than most standard systems on the market.

Understanding the challenges he faced with the project, Stigler chose a company he trusted. He reached out to YKK AP and discussed his needs, as well as the budget and time constraints. YKK AP previously worked on a similar project and the dies were available to engineer a custom curtain wall in the timeframe that the project required. Using the YKK AP 4-15/16” YHC 300 curtain wall, the aluminum fenestration manufacturer saved LFS and the school thousands of dollars by discovering existing shallow CW dies. High performance monolithic glazing and insulated metal panel inserts dramatically improved comfort inside the building while lowering energy costs.