Republic National Distribution Center (RNDC) is one of the nation’s leading wholesale beverage alcohol distributors, specializing in wine, spirits, and CBD. The $50 million new distribution center and sales office is 326,905 square feet. This new building features 288,880 sq. ft. of warehouse space and 38,025 sq. ft. of office space, offering the latest in environmentally friendly designs, including highly efficient LED lighting.
Project Overview:
The Space Management Division of CIH worked with its manufacturing partners to create a flexible space for RNDC’s needs. The 300-person sales auditorium is 7,540 square feet and needed to be adaptable to subdivide with the six moveable walls. This large room can be modified into 720 configurations using Skyfold vertically retracting and Modernfold horizontal walls. Skyfold Classic 51 and Zenith 51 vertically retracting walls run the entire length of the 100-foot auditorium. In addition, four Modernfold Acousti-Seal Legacy electrically operated horizontal walls intersect with the Skyfold walls. This multi-functional space allows RNDC to create breakout rooms quickly and easily with the push of a button with these fully automated walls.
The Challenge
The feat of combining two different moveable wall systems was the challenge for this project. Ensuring the order of the walls being extended or retracted was imperative and needed consistency. The Skyfold walls required to be entirely in the down position before the Modernfold walls could move. Otherwise, the Modernfold walls could hit the retracted Skyfold walls when storing them in the ceiling pocket. Likewise, the Modernfold walls needed to be completely retracted in their storage pockets before the Skyfold walls could move.
The Solution
Engineers from both Skyfold and Modernfold worked together to create a solution. The decision was to install an interlock control box that ensured the Skyfold and Modernfold walls did not collide. Also installed were sets of IR sensors to indicate where the Modernfold walls were in relation to the Skyfold walls.
The acoustic properties of these walls were a great consideration for RNDC. The acoustic rating for the Skyfold Classic and Zenith partitions is 51 STC, and the acoustic rating for the Modernfold Acousti-Seal Legacy partitions is 50 STC. These ratings mean a good degree of speech privacy between the rooms was achieved. This was essential to RNDC since multiple meetings would take place in close proximity.