By Ray Birch
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Credit unions are always looking for ways to show their communities they’re modern and on the leading edge of financial services. Now one CU has found a new way to do just that with a 3D print to create the façade of its new office here.
In fact, the CU’s “wave” brand is incorporated into the 3D design.
The $2-billion Tennessee Valley FCU has partnered with Branch Technology on its new Southside location. When the office opens this spring, TFFCU claims it will be the first-ever building with a 3D-printed façade.
“We just want to stand out, show we are a forward-thinking credit union, and do something different in the community,” said CEO Todd Fortner. “We just wanted, too, to have a building that would stand out in a part of downtown Chattanooga that has a very modern, cool vibe to it. This is really a new-age look.”
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design (CAD) model or a digital 3D model. The term “3D printing” can refer to various processes in which material is deposited, joined, or solidified under computer control to create a three-dimensional object, with material being added together, such as liquid molecules or powder grains being fused together.
When completed, the exterior of the TVFCU office will take the rolling shape of a wave and give the impression of having a great deal of depth. A video of the building during its early construction phase can be viewed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eApLG83VWcY
Significantly Less Material
Branch Technology said it uses a proprietary method that requires 20 times less material to create a similar volume than the traditional layer-by-layer process. The company used a customized carbon fiber polymer mixture for the Tennessee Valley FCU project.
“We're an innovative financial institution and credit unions generally aren't thought of as being that,” said Fortner. “You take one look at this building and you say, ‘Oh yeah, that's something different.’”
The decision to go with the 3D façade on the new office was an easy one to make, according to Fortner, citing costs similar to that for a standard building façade and the credit union’s close relationship with Branch Technology.
Fortner declined to reveal the cost for the 3D façade, but said Branch Technology gave the CU a good price as it is a commercial member of TVFCU and because Branch Technology wanted to show the Chattanooga business community what it can do.
Award Leads to Conversation
“About three years ago we were at a Chamber of Commerce meeting and Branch Technology won an award,” Fortner explained. “The Spirit of Innovation award is given to a company that comes up with innovative processes.”
Fortner said he became interested in the company and asked his staff who were at the meeting to schedule a meeting with the startup.
“We spoke with them and learned they are a fascinating business,” said Fortner, who added those discussions led to Branch Technology opening a business account with TVFCU. “We told them we’d love to help them with any banking needs they have and then we got to thinking about how the credit union might take advantage of the company’s capabilities. We were considering building this new office on the south side of Chattanooga.”
TVFCU soon learned that Branch Technology was interested in working with the credit union, and further wanted to construct a 3D building in the market to demonstrate its capabilities.
Hanging the Panels
“Right now we are just getting the panels hung on the outside walls of the building,” said Fortner in late February. “It’s really an engineering marvel. While I am not an engineer, I spoke with one during the process and he said they had to find a way to hang the panels on the building given there’s very little clearance between the panels and the outside walls of the office.”
The average panel is 4’x10’ and weighs 300-400 pounds, with 250 panels covering the TVFCU office.
Fortner said the credit union thought about leveraging some 3D printing technology inside its office, as well, but Branch Technology said permits for that use of the tech were not yet available in Chattanooga.
Branch Technology, in one of its fact sheets, said the cost of 3D printing for building construction “is still a long way from a commodity level.”
The company said Dubai has been the most aggressive country in using the construction approach, requiring 25% of all construction to be 3D printed by 2025.
“To date, there hasn't been an entire building from foundation to roof that is 3D printed. Buildings are a complex layering of different materials,” the company said.
‘Coolest Building in the City’
Added Fortner, “These panels have a lot of depth and at different times of day the shadows will hit the undulations of the panels and give the building a really different look. We think it’s going to be the coolest building in the city.”
Would TVFCU use 3D printing to retrofit existing offices or on another new construction?
“That's to be determined,” said Fortner. “We don't have any new branches on the agenda right now. I guess some of the decision will depend on the reaction from the community and our business results from the new location.”
