With its great arching dome and its semi-circular office building, the ASM International Headquarters conveys the imaginative force that marks ASM.
Started in 1958, completed in 1959 and formally dedicated in 1960, one outstanding feature of the building is the geodesic dome or "space lattice" designed by R. Buckminster Fuller.
A symbol of man’s mastery of his metal resources, the open-work dome made of extruded aluminum stands 103 feet high and 250 feet in diameter, weighs 80 tons and contains more than 65,000 parts.
The dome is ornamental and open, honeycomb-like, and stands on five pylons, two of which rise up from courtyards set into the building.
Another outstanding use of metal in the building is the stainless steel "sun shield," 13 feet high and 390 feet long, extending across the west face of the third level.
The "shield" provides protection from the western sun without obstructing the view.
The outer surface of the shield is a satin finish, the inner, soft gold.
There are 4,000 louvers or openings, approximately 12 inches by 5 inches in size.
The building has three levels and some 50,000 square feet of floor space.
It is made of reinforced concrete with special emphasis on uses of metals.
Every door on the lobby level is stainless steel; the main stairway is also of stainless, hung dramatically by the use of steel rods running the height of the three levels.
Copper sheeting frames the elevator.
Outside, within the circle of the building, is the beautifully landscaped Eisenman Garden.
This garden was re-done in 1999 with landscape designs by Knight and Stolar and main contractor Buddie Construction.
Set beneath the dome, it is one of the building’s striking features.
Educational as well as decorative, the garden displays upward of 66 specimens of raw mineral ores, all labeled as to kind and 73 varieties of perennials, shrub and flowering trees.
Within the building, there is a dining room, library, and a conference room that seats 85.
Administrative offices are on the second or plaza level, staff offices on the third level, with service departments plus offices, cafeteria, a computer training room, large classroom and a lab/classroom on the lower or ground floor.
Today, Materials Park accommodates the ASM staff numbering more than 100, and is a popular visitors’ attraction.
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