Kalwall Daylights One of World's Largest Buildings
Nearly twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building is the heart of Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center. Here, space shuttle components are integrated and stacked; external fuel tanks are checked out and stowed, making it the world's largest storage closet at 525 feet. Covering eight acres, it is also one of the world's biggest buildings. Multiplying its three dimensions equals a staggering 129,428,000 cubic feet. To withstand winds of up to 125 miles per hour, the foundation is anchored by over 4,200 steel pilings, each sixteen inches across, driven down 160 feet to Florida bedrock.
But after six hurricanes in 2004 alone, the wear and tear was beginning to show, and a final slap by Hurricane Wilma, late in 2005, kicked off major repairs. Vast stretches of Kalwall curtainwall bring controlled daylight into what would otherwise be a huge, dark, cavern of a building, eliminating glare, reducing the need for artificial lighting, and enhancing worker health and productivity. Kalwall stands up to the punishing shock and sound waves generated by nearby rocket launches and meets Florida's demanding hurricane resistance codes as well as federal DoD anti-terrorism standards.
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For more information, contact:
Bruce Keller
Kalwall Corporation 603-627-3861 (800-258-9777 N. America)
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