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Last fall, the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, in conjunction with Emory Healthcare, established a world-class professional sports practice facility and an entire orthopedics and sports medicine campus in Brookhaven, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. It will serve as the official training and practice fa- cility of the Hawks as well as the hub of Emory's Sports Medicine program and Sports Science and Research divi- sion. It's not your typical locker room, for sure! To enhance the ultra modern fa- cility, the Hawks approached Allied Fence Co., Inc. in early 2017 to design, fabricate and install a unique environ- mentally friendly, maintenance-free, breathable privacy fence for the new campus, which was completed just in time for the 2017-2018 NBA season. The privacy fence is 8' tall and made with aluminum framework and PVC slats that are positioned in a lou- vered fashion so that the fence is open and breathable, but provides privacy for the players and their cars, accord- ing to Todd Edlin, president of Allied Fence. The posts are made with 4" by 6" aluminum I Beams, spaced six feet, one inch on center. Precise post spac- ing was crucial as there was minimal tolerance, Edlin noted. The cap rail is 2" x 8" aluminum. Both the I Beams and cap rails were powder coated to enable them to be maintenance-free. Most of the struc- tural framework was fabricated from standard aluminum extrusions, but a machine shop made several custom pieces to create a very professional finished appearance, Edlin said. The PVC slats are 2" by 6" by 6' long. They are separated by 1½" by 1½" PVC picket spacers that are cut on an angle. The spacers are glued to the PVC slats on one side but left unattached on the other to allow the fence to mod- estly move in the wind, he noted. The slats can expand and contract, so the I Beam posts were lined with ¼" flex- ible neoprene tape so the slats have room to expand in the heat. Similarly, ½" tape was used along the bottom side of the cap rail so that the pickets are held in place when they expand and contract. The post and cap rail tape also eliminates any noise that the slats would make if they shifted during a heavy wind. "While Allied Fence had tested the fence design's strength by building a prototype, there was still concern about wind impact," said Edlin. "At- lanta was hit with its first ever tropi- cal storm while the fence was being installed. On September 11, when the remnants of Hurricane Irma came through the city with winds gusting to 45 mph, Allied Fence sent people to observe and listen to see if the fence would move or make noise during the storm, but found that there were no concerns. The structure stayed intact and the neoprene tape successfully buffered any noise." The custom privacy fence mea- sured about 500 lineal feet. The play- ers' parking lot has a double cantilever entry gate and a single cantilever exit gate, operated by DoorKing 9150 slide gate operators with safety beams and a free exit loop. The security contrac- tor installed a telephone access system and a biometric reader outside of the fence scope of the work. The coaches' courtyard is also surrounded by the same 8' privacy fence. It has a self-closing, self-latch- ing walk gate with a magnetic lock. The privacy fence was the most unique aspect of the project, but Al- lied Fence also installed about 800 lineal feet of ornamental steel fence, an 8' tall dumpster enclosure using PVC slats and about 620 lineal feet of black chain link fencing around a retention pond. The project was lead by vice-pres- ident Kenny Gillam and project man- ager Mike Brooks. "It was done on time and within budget for general contractor Brasfield and Gorrie," Edlin noted. "Seven of Allied Fence's 15 crews were able to participate in the installation of this unique fence installation. "After participating in tens of thousands of fence projects spanning many decades, it was truly exciting to have a prestigious client give our em- ployees a chance to think outside of the box," he said. "Our team, lead by Kenny and Mike, accepted the chal- lenge. They created a never-seen-be- fore design and implemented a high quality installation that had not been attempted which met our client's needs Allied Fence creates unique custom fence for new Atlanta Hawks world-class practice facility and sports medicine center continued on page 6 The top photo shows a closeup of the unique 8' tall privacy fence constructed with louvered PVC slats in an aluminum framework that Allied Fence designed, fabricated and installed at the new Atlanta Hawks practice facility. This section is part of the fence surrounding the coaches' courtyard. Below, another view of the coaches' courtyard fence with landscaping. (Allied Fence photos) FEBRUARY 2018 Celebrating our 34th year of publication • Visit us online at www.worldfencenews.com