Les Schwab Tire Centers, known throughout the Northwest for the popular, homespun marketing tactics of its founder, Les Schwab, has moved its corporate headquarters from the original cinderblock building in Prineville, OR to a sparkling new structure in Bend, OR.

From its humble beginnings in a single location in 1952, the company has grown to 420 retail stores throughout the Western United States and now employs 7,000 people. Founder Les Schwab died in 2007.The move to Bend and the modern new 120,000 sq. ft. building represents a major cultural shift for the company. “But the company is still interested only in things that make good financial sense,” according to Craig Stockbridge, project manager and associate principal with GBD Architects, Portland. “The building design places great emphasis on the efficiency of materials as well as sustainability.”

Nearly 30,000 sq. ft. of Citadel Envelope 2000® Rain Screen (RS) metal composite material panels were used on the new structure. The panels were finished in three colors: Gun Metal, Terra Cotta and Champagne Metallic.From the start of design to occupancy, the project was completed in less than 24 months. “It’s a very ‘smart’ building that will sustain the company for decades,” Stockbridge said. “The simple design can be expanded or contracted as necessary and includes lots of efficient, green technologies. It’s certainly a ‘silver equivalent’ design.”

The Citadel panels interface with precast concrete and locally-quarried sandstone. “The mix of durable materials really delivers a great look. The Citadel panels are fast to install; they’re very cost-effective and speak well to a lot of people,” said Stockbridge.The rain screen attachment system is particularly popular in the Northwest. “Rain screen is the system of choice out here,” Stockbridge reports. “It’s just inevitable that water will get in so why not control it by allowing it to escape and allow the system to ventilate?”

Fabrication and installation of the Citadel material was done by Salem Heating & Sheet Metal, Inc., Salem, OR. Project manager Jeff Gladow concurred regarding the rain screen system. “It’s the preferred system in the Northwest and my personal favorite, too,” he said. “I like the clean lines of the RS system and the fact that it’s caulk-free.”Salem Heating & Sheet Metal, Inc. also provided and installed a custom color 22 gauge metal roof and did all of the rigid insulation for the roof and walls.

“It was a large, fast-paced project for us and definitely a team effort,” Gladow said. “The job was completed in less than two years from the time of groundbreaking to occupancy. One of the keys to meeting the tight schedule was the fact that we could measure and detail individual elevations without having to measure the entire building before getting started.” The Citadel distributor was Pacific Architectural Products, Clackamas, OR.