The Vintage Club is one of America’s most prestigious country club communities. Located at the base of Eisenhower Mountain in Indian Wells, California, the Vintage Club blends natural beauty with sophisticated architecture. Throughout the club, pyramid shaped screens accent rooftops and conceal the facility’s air-conditioning units. The dual-purpose screenings were constructed from structural timber and required approximately $75,000 in maintenance costs, every other year.

The timber’s quick deterioration, caused by the desert’s thermal cycling, combined with the mounting maintenance costs, were driving factors in the Vintage Club’s exploration for a cost effective, long-term replacement. Harrington Industrial Plastics, a distributor of Strongwell products, recognized the club’s situation as an ideal project for Strongwell’s EXTREN^® structural shapes. Unlike timber, EXTREN^® does not rot or decay and EXTREN^® is not susceptible to insect attack. Strongwell’s EXTREN^® shapes are also stronger and more rigid than timber.

Strongwell pultruded the fiberglass shapes in beige to match the existing hue of the wood structures. Because pigments are added to the resin during the pultrusion process, the color is throughout the part, unlike timber which requires continual painting. Also, EXTREN^® shapes provide a clean, aesthetically pleasing appearance, complementing the Vintage Club’s architectural theme.

Thirteen of the screening structures were fabricated before shipping and assembled on site. The lightweight structures were lifted into place using a single crane pick. This arrangement meant less install time at the country club, resulting in lower installation costs and little inconvenience to Vintage Club members.

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