Building Science You Can See in Action
When you manufacture building envelope products, there’s a certain logic to using them in your own building.
That’s exactly what Keene Building Products did at its Training Center in Euclid, Ohio.
The 3,700 SF facility provides a hands-on setting where contractors, architects, and other building professionals can learn about building envelope systems, installation techniques, and moisture management. The building itself extends that education beyond the classroom, with Keene products incorporated into its exterior wall assemblies.
The façade combines Evolve Stone with James Hardie Architectural Panels and Channeling, creating a contemporary exterior while providing an opportunity to demonstrate how different cladding systems work with the same underlying approach to moisture management.
The Challenge
Cladding is the building’s first line of defense against weather, but it’s not the only one.
Even well-designed cladding systems can allow some moisture behind the exterior surface. Once that happens, the wall assembly needs a way to drain and ventilate the space behind the cladding.
That makes the design of the layers beneath the finished façade just as important as the cladding itself.
For the Training Center, the goal was straightforward: build an exterior wall that performs while allowing visitors to see how the components work together.
The Solution
Keene incorporated Driwall Drainable Housewrap and Driwall Rainscreen 020 into the exterior wall assemblies.
Together, the products provide a weather-resistant barrier and drainage space behind the cladding, helping manage water that gets past the exterior surface while providing ventilation within the assembly.
Using two different cladding systems also demonstrates how the Driwall approach can be incorporated into different exterior wall applications.
As Jim Keene, President and Owner of Keene Building Products, explains: “There’s only so much you can learn from a product brochure. At the Keene Training Center, building professionals can see the products in an actual wall assembly and see how the pieces work together with different exterior materials. We can talk about how a product works but it’s more impactful when you can see it being used.”
We Don’t Just Make It. We Use It.
The Training Center puts a simple idea into practice: Keene makes building envelope products and uses them in its own walls.
That makes the facility a useful teaching tool for visitors. Instead of looking at individual products on a display board, contractors and design professionals can see them as part of a complete exterior wall assembly, installed behind finished cladding.
The building also sits alongside Keene’s manufacturing and R&D operations at 23550 St. Clair Ave. in Euclid, putting product development, manufacturing, and hands-on education in the same location.
A Building That Teaches
The Keene Training Center isn’t just a classroom. It’s a working example of building science.
From the finished cladding to the layers behind it, the facility demonstrates how individual components contribute to the performance of a complete wall assembly and gives the people who specify and install those systems an opportunity to see that performance up close.
Sometimes the best way to explain how a building envelope works is to build one you can walk up to and touch.
Planning an exterior project? Connect with Your Keene Regional Sales Rep to specify Driwall Drainable Housewrap and Driwall Rainscreen.
