Memphis, Tenn., Sept. 25, 2009 - A vicious tornado blew through southwest Kansas on May 4, 2007, prompting the governor of Kansas and President George W. Bush to declare Kiowa County a disaster area. Winds in excess of 200 miles per hour left the rural town of Greensburg, Kan., almost completely leveled - 95 percent of the town was swept away by the storm.
 |
Snodgrass and Sons Construction Co., Inc., based in Wichita, Kan., was one of the many contractors charged with helping rebuild Greensburg and chose Memphis-based Liberty Building Systems to provide metal building solutions for three structures striving to achieve LEED status.
"Coming from such devastation and destruction, we were very impressed with the Greensburg community and the commitment they made to rebuilding their town with LEED-certified structures. There are so many intricate requirements and steps to be followed that, as a contractor, it makes me respect them all the more," said David Snodgrass, president of Snodgrass and Sons Constructio. "Liberty fully invested in the project, made an extra effort to keep the project on time and did a great job in helping us achieve LEED certification."
Liberty supplied three building solutions for Snodgrass and Sons Construction and the town of Greensburg. The transportation building is a 6,089-square-foot structure split into administrative offices and open warehouse space to store and maintain county vehicles. The noxious weed building, used for chemical and equipment storage, has a square footage of 4,800. The recycling center is tied to the green initiative of Greensburg, and this 4,464-square-foot structure is open to the public for paper and plastic recycling.
"Building projects with the goal of LEED certification is a natural fit for the use of metal," said David English, LEED AP, corporate accounts and quote manager for Liberty. "Metal buildings are made of recyclable, long-life materials and are extremely efficient structures, having less impact on the environment. They are a sustainable solution for those looking to build in an environmentally responsible fashion."
All buildings are seperate but were erected in close proximity to each other. Each building features clearspan framing, 24-gauge Galvalume® LibertyLoc® standing seam roof system, 26-gauge polar white interior liner panels and 24-gauge LibertyRib® wall panels in an ash gray Kynar finish with zinc gray trim.
This is the first LEED-certified project that Liberty and Snodgrass and Sons Construction have completed together.
