Metal Architecture magazine recently presented the winners of the 2018 Metal Architecture Design Awards. This year’s Grand Award Winner was the Eleanor Boathouse in Chicago.

The magazine’s judging panel lauded the design for its lighthanded, yet aggressive form. The design is successful and well-executed throughout all scales, large to small, the judges said, and metal was leveraged for its specific qualities to create a compelling project.

Zinc panels completely clad the two structures. Mundelein, Ill.-based Sheet Metal Supply Ltd. was the fabricator. Ben Kweton, vice president at Sheet Metal Supply, says the design team opted for a slightly customized version of Flat Lock panels. “The tiles we fabricated had a slight offset at the top to bring the panel overlaps more into plane and to create a slight reveal,” he says.

To read the full description of Metal Architecture’s insights into making their choice, click here.

Also, see last month’s news article for an overview of the project.