Construction of major building projects in bustling urban areas is always challenging. However, the $700 million Lyrik Back Bay mixed-use development in Boston set a new benchmark for logistical complexity. This ambitious endeavor required building over the eight-lane Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) and two MBTA/Amtrak rail lines. It is the first significant air rights development in Boston in 40 years.

Lyrik Back Bay, formerly known as Parcel 12, broke ground in 2020. It first opened to the public and tenants in 2024 and will see continued retail openings and office tenant move-ins throughout 2025. The site, which features a 20-story tower with 450,000 square feet of world-class office and lab space, is already serving as the North American headquarters for several leading companies, including a global toymaker and an online automotive retailer.

The development also includes CitizenM Boston Back Bay Hotel, which is tracking LEED® certification; an underground parking facility; retail and restaurant spaces; and a half-acre European-style public plaza. Beyond new amenities, the project reconnects the Back Bay, Fenway and South End neighborhoods, which were divided by the turnpike’s expansion 40 years ago.

Subcontractor Ferguson Neudorf Glass was responsible for the fabrication, assembly and installation of the unitized aluminum, glass and formed-metal curtain walls, while Spectrum Metal Finishing performed the finishing work on the exterior façades for the office tower and luxury hotel. Each formed plate panel was finished with a two-coat PPG CORAFLON® powder coating system, formulated with fluoroethylene vinyl ether (FEVE) resins.

Fluoropolymer resins, available in both FEVE and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) formulations, are known for their exceptional weather resistance (UV light, humidity, salt spray) and typically provide up to a 20-year warranty for adhesion, color and chalking on aluminum substrates when applied by an approved applicator like Spectrum.

For Lyrik Back Bay, over 29,000 pounds of PPG powder topcoat (plus the equivalent amount for the primer) was required to finish the formed panels for the office tower and four-star hotel. While the setting is inland, developer Samuels & Company and the architectural firm of Elkus Manfredi specified the highest level of protection, surpassing what is normally required for coastal environments.

While Coraflon powder meets FGIA/AAMA 2605 performance specifications in just one coat, a two-coat system was used that included a powder primer (PCS79102) followed by a powder topcoat (PCNT29308) in White Terracotta.

“The level of protection was above and beyond what a typical seacoast application would receive for corrosion resistance and weatherability to preserve not only the structural integrity of the metal, but also long-lasting color and gloss,” said Jared Ruggieri, national sales manager for Spectrum.

About Architectural-Grade Powder Coatings

Powder coatings are the chemistry of choice for architectural applications due to some attractive features. FEVE-based exterior-grade coatings like Coraflon powder have been used on architectural applications like curtain walls, building facades and extrusions for monumental buildings and commercial storefronts for over 30 years. They offer significant sustainability advantages, such as formulations made without solvents that release VOCs during curing and the ability to be reclaimed. Additionally, powder coatings have excellent mechanical properties, including hardness, scratch and abrasion resistance, resistance to dirt pickup, a more uniform appearance regardless of orientation, and a thicker film build compared to most standard liquid coatings.

There are a few additional advantages that add to powder coatings’ value proposition:

• While many architectural liquid coatings use acrylic resin components for increased weather resistance, they are not required in FEVE based powders
• Powders can meet FGIA/AAMA 2605 performance requirements in a single coat
• Micas and metallics do not require the additional
   layer of a clear protective topcoat
• No solvents are required for thinning and cleanup

Architectural grade powders like Coraflon powder offer versatility when it comes to design, including:

• Textures: stone and granite, speckle, velvet touch, rolling
• Sheens: matte to high gloss
• Anodized metal finishes

Spectrum Metal Finishing

As one of the largest privately held architectural coaters of both liquid and powder solutions in the U.S. and a long-standing member of PPG’s Certified Applicator Program™ (CAP), Spectrum Metal Finishing has been servicing the architectural aluminum market for more than 32 years, partnering with some of the largest architectural extruders and fabricators, commercial glaziers, railing manufacturers, unitized curtainwall and industrial/OEM companies in North America.

The company has been an important PPG partner for more than three decades. ISO-certified, Spectrum is one of the few companies to operate liquid and powder coating lines in the same facility and their horizontal production lines were specifically built to service the commercial construction industry. The shop’s part package measures 33 feet long, 72 inches high and 30 inches deep for both liquid and powder lines.

Spectrum and PPG have partnered with many large-scale architectural projects, including Hudson Yards and Pier 17, both in New York City. The collaboration between the companies continues in Boston on Landmark Center, a three-phase project that includes 550,000 square feet of office/life sciences uses and a 50,000-square-foot ground-floor grocery store. The development is one of Boston’s largest zero-net-carbon buildings and was designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification or better.

“For both Lyrik Back Bay and the Landmark development, the architectural team was comfortable moving forward with PPG because of the company’s history in manufacturing high-performance architectural coatings and their highly regarded technical expertise,” Ruggieri explained.

Learn more about PPG powder primers and topcoats.

FGIA/AAMA Specification Level Comparison Table

Image courtesy of PPG