Architectural Products Magazine Highlights Ave Maria University COOLWALL® Project
Updated: Dec 28, 2022
The January-February issue of the Architectural Products publication featured the application of the TEX•COTE® COOLWALL® System to the Ave Maria University in Florida.
A COOLING INFLUENCE FOR A NEW CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY
CHALLENGE: Create environmentally sound buildings throughout the new Ave Maria University campus in southwest Florida while remaining true to distinct and historic designs derived by architect Cannon Design, Grand Island, N.Y., from Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie style.
CRITERIA: Despite their historic feel and charm, the university’s buildings, including a 2,500-seat gymnasium, a science, math, and technology center, a library, a student activity center, and residence halls, were required to take advantage of modern building and applied technologies that supported the town’s environmental sustaining goals.
INFLUENCES: Ave Maria is the first Catholic university built in the United States since the 1960s, and is the brainchild of Thomas C. Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza. The campus shares 5,000-acre parcel east of Naples Fla., with a soaring 100-ft oratory set in the middle of its central plazza and a surrounding master plan of private homes and businesses designed to evoke the charm of Italy’s hill towns. A commitment to environmentally sustainable, pedestrian-friendly planning influences building design and performance and enables residents and students to live, work and play within the community.
SOLUTION: The patented Tex-Cote CoolWall System, a reflective, energy-saving exterior wall coating from Textured Coatings of America, offered an attractive variety of cost-efficient and environmental benefits, including reduced air-conditioning costs and extended life span with minimal maintenance.
The heat-reflective system has been applied to several buildings on campus and throughout the town. “While the new town of Ave Maria has a very traditional and charming atmosphere, it is actually one of the most environmentally innovative communities in the country,” says Jay Haines, president and chief executive officer of Textured Coatings of America, Inc.
The multipart coating employs the same technology used by the military to reduce the heat signature, or the solar heat absorbed by a vehicle, plane or building, it is specially formulated to change the invisible portion of the light spectrum, helping reflect heat and UV radiation without altering the desired or specified color of the building’s exterior. Recent testing by the U.S. Dept. of Energy found the CoolWall system reduces exterior wall temperatures enough to decrease interior cooling costs by up to 22% when compared to traditional paints and coatings in the same color.