Cladding System at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture | Longboard®

Longboard manufactures premium interior & exterior aluminum building products in a wide range of woodgrain, solid color, specialty & custom finishes. Longboard's HITCH™ Cladding Attachment System, along with 6-inch Link & Lock™ and 6-inch Panelboard™ products in a Birchwood finish were used in the Montana Museum of Art and Culture (MMAC), located on the University of Montana campus in Missoula.

The Montana Museum of Art and Culture (MMAC), on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, is the state’s oldest and most extensive art museum. Founded in 1894, it holds nearly 12,000 works, with a focus on the Rocky Mountain West. MMAC is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting visual art for the public.

Architectural design & features
Designed by A&E Design, the new 17,000-square-foot facility includes two galleries, a lobby, a classroom, a library, a gift shop, and a storage vault. Built for both function and preservation, it features cutting-edge technology, advanced security, and improved accessibility to protect and showcase the collection.

Significance & reputation
The new permanent facility for MMAC addresses past challenges, such as limited access, poor environmental conditions, and high transportation costs. It allows the museum to display a wider range of artworks, host special exhibitions, and attract more visitors, boosting the University of Montana's academic and artistic reputation.

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Product application: HITCH™ Cladding Attachment System
The HITCH™ system is a modular solution designed to accommodate various insulation thicknesses, reducing thermal bridging and improving energy efficiency. It supports cladding loads up to 15 pounds per square foot under high wind and seismic conditions. The combination of Longboard's smooth plank and Link & Lock™ systems creates a castellation effect, adding a unique, textured aesthetic to the building's exterior. The design includes large radiused walls, with one particularly tight radius. To address this, girts were oriented vertically (parallel to the planks) with a second layer of hat channel to bend with the radius, showcasing the flexibility of the HITCH™ system in complex architectural designs.

Longboard's HITCH™ system supports the building's sustainability goals by enabling continuous exterior insulation up to 16 inches, minimizing thermal bridging and boosting energy efficiency. The system's high structural capacity accommodates various cladding types, offering both durability and aesthetic versatility. Its modular design provides flexibility for different architectural designs, proving especially useful in addressing the building's unique radiused walls.