“ This was very much a public project with a client who wanted a very warm place , very friendly , not cold , not stark , not too crisp . So the choice of wood was very important for us to get the feeling we wanted .”
Lawrence Speck , Fellow of the American Institute of Architects ( FAIA )
“ There wasn ’ t enough ipé in the pipeline to meet our deadlines . We needed 62,000 board feet so we had to make some decisions . In the end , two-thirds of our ipé was FSC certified .”
Most of the ipé lumber for decking was specified in eight-foot lengths in dimensions of 5 / 4 x 6 inches and 5 / 4 x 8 inches . For the interior walls , 1 x 6 inch planks were used . Most of the decking substrate is FSC certified pressure-treated southern yellow pine . Plans called for the ipé decking to be mounted to the substructure with a hidden “ T ” -clip™ Deck Clip system , which required machining a slot groove into the back of the boards and fastening the aluminum clips with stainless steel screws . The faces of some of the boards were also grooved for slip resistance .
Installation was overseen by general contractor , Miner Dedrick , and handled by Specialty Construction in Spring , Texas .
“ Ipé is really no different than regular wood , except that because of its density you have to predrill everything . You just can ’ t shoot a nail into it ,” says Dennis Nagy , owner and president of Specialty Construction . “ You also have to use stainless steel fasteners because the natural chemicals in ipé will corrode and break down any other kind of metal .”
BRINGING THE OUTSIDE IN Above the five-star Grove restaurant in Discovery Green is the Tree House , a room used for special events , or as an extension of the restaurant . The area is partially covered and can be opened on three sides with sliding glass walls for ventilation , and a tree-top view of the park . The fourth wall and the floor are surfaced in ipé .
“ For this area , we wanted the essence of an outdoor application ,” says Hagstette . “ It ’ s unfinished , unstained , unsealed , and it ’ s quite beautiful . We also used ipé above the locally sourced brick on the walls of our office space and the pavilion .”
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