BUILDING: Porcelain Walls

In Hartford, Conn, the Statler chain opened its newest hotel, and displayed a spectacular use for a new, fast-growing building material. The hotel’s outside walls are sheathed with brilliant, blue-green porcelain-enameled steel panels. Statler is so pleased with the effect that it plans to use forest-green panels on its Dallas hotel, now abuilding.

Across the U.S., many another new building is wrapped in brightly colored, porcelainized steel. In New Orleans the 17-story Texas Co. building is a rich green; in Dearborn, Mich. Ford Motor is planning a vast (650,000 sq. ft.) headquarters in blue-green. In Erie, Pa. the steeple on the First Presbyterian Church is eggshell white.

Porcelain enamel was used chiefly for bathroom tubs and sinks until after World War II. Then a handful of companies began turning out the panels in volume. The panels have a thin coat of porcelain on the outside and a thick layer of gypsum board on the inside, thus are a complete wall in themselves. Since they are only about 2 in. thick (v. 10 in. or more for masonry walls), they save about a square foot of space in an average room. They are fireproof, highly chip resistant, and their colors do not fade.