Alternative Compliance Narrative

Board of Architecture License No. 100163
Certificate of Authorization – Engineering 3137
Prepared for:
The Boeing Company
Prepared by:
BRPH Architects Engineers, Inc.
19020 33rd Ave West , Suite 530
Lynwood, WA 98036.
Boeing Mesa – ACFC Warehouse
Narrative – DRB
BRPH NO. C08117.001.00
August 04, 2026

NARRATIVE
1.0 SUMMARY
The Boeing Fabrication building is designed to highlight an architectural language that compliments the
surrounding developments. All building facades will be constructed in a similar architectural style that
respects the surrounding facilities of the existing Boeing Mesa Campus. Exterior walls of the building will
utilize corrugated metal panels that will have a gray color palette to correspond to the main ACFC building.
The design will use changes in color of the panels and varying horizontal and vertical corrugation profiles to
break up the wall plane of the façade.
Alternative compliance for this building is requested. None of the alternative compliance items create
adverse impacts on safety, access, visibility, glare, privacy, noise, drainage, heat island effect, and does not
reduce pedestrian comfort or accessibility. This building is not on a public way, nor is visible to the public.
The proposed alternative compliance items attempt to comply with the spirit of the zoning design criteria
and are not of inferior quality or function.
2.0 NARRATIVE
2.1 ACFC STORAGE WAREHOUSE
The Boeing Mesa ACFC Storage Warehouse, located at the northeast corner of Greenfield Road and McDowell
Road, will be a 1-story, roughly 35,000 square foot building for the storage of tooling and equipment to
support the ACFC expansion and program. The proposed building is to be located within the western portion
of the existing Boeing campus. The exterior walls consist of corrugated metal panels in two different colors,
profiles, and will vary in orientation with interior lined batt insulation on 8-in concrete curbs. Primary access
is positioned for communication between the west side of the building and the neighboring ACFC building.
Two overhead rolling doors are positioned along the west wall as well. The roofing system will consist of a
standing seam metal panel with a double-ply insulation system to meet energy code, set at a height of 24’ –
8”. There is no rooftop equipment and no roof access, fall protection, or equipment screening is included.
The Warehouse horizontal corrugated metal panels create a human scale by capping at a ‘wainscotting
height’ and provide a wayfinding experience by extending vertically full height at the egress points and
doors to the building. Wayfinding is also aided by canopies at personnel doors. Running the horizonal
corrugation vertically at the doors breaks up the length of the façade and establishes a rhythm to the
building. In addition to color, orientation, and pattern, the metal panels also differ in depth (creating visual
interest and shadow lines). The horizontal panels sit proud of the vertical, breaking the plane of the building
face and further aiding in both way-finding and providing visual interest.
2.2 ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE
Due to the proposed Warehouse design of the Warehouse, alternative compliance is requested.
• Building consists of one material type (metal), and not from the approved materials list. Metal covers
more than 25% of building facades (11-7-4(D)(1), 11-7-4(D)(3))
o Corrugated metal panel is an efficient and cost effective building material and is appropriate
for a warehouse. The building is not visible to the public as it is set back behind the property
fence and blocked by other buildings on the Boeing campus.
o The use of two pattern types (in two colors) of corrugated metal panel was selected in order
to satisfy the spirit of the zoning design criteria. For a storage warehouse that is not visible to
the public, use of higher cost materials is impractical and would negatively impact the
detailing and thermal envelope for a simple building.
o The intent for the subdivisions of the patterns, colors, and the slight differentiation in plane
adheres to the spirit of the MZO by creating smaller human scale rhythms.
C08117.001.00 DRB 08/04/2026  2

NARRATIVE
• Primary building material exceeds 50% (primary color exceeds 50%) (11-7-4(D)(2))
o Due to the size of the building and due to limiting the exterior materials to two colors,
increasing the quantity of one material to reach the max of 50% would negate the overall
concept of creating a ‘human scale’ design element (wainscotting) and dilute the effect of the
wayfinding experience.
o The cost effectiveness of the pre-engineered metal building is compromised by adding a
secondary structural and finish material (i.e. CMU block). As this building is not visible to the
public way and the inherent nature of the building.
• Building material differentiation exceeds 50 feet in length (11-7-4(C)(1)(b)). Building material
articulation does not meet 4 feet minimum (11-7-4(C)(1)(b)(i))
o Entirety of building is not visible to the public way, as well as being on private property.
o Due to the size and rectilinear shape of the building, the material differentiation cannot
reasonably change every 50ft without appearing too ‘busy’. Additionally, material changes are
deliberately located for purposes of wayfinding and highlighting door locations. Creating large
articulation movements within the building perimeter complicates an otherwise simple building
structure and causes unnecessary costs from the extra inside and outside corners.
▪ In response to the massing articulation comment for the building meeting 4 feet
minimum articulation (11-7-4(C)(1)(b)(i)), we have added canopies at personnel doors
that protrude 4ft from face of the building.
• Building downspouts are external
o Building’s downspouts will be prefinished to match the adjacent building’s vertical corrugated
metal panel color and camouflaged against the articulation of the panels. Internalizing roof
drainage creates a complexity in construction to an otherwise simple building structure.
Additionally, downspouts would not be visible at a distance, as this building will be almost
1000 feet from Greenfield and hundreds of feet from McDowell.
o Where downspouts cross the horizontal corrugated metal panels, a rhythm is created along
the facades that helps to aid in complying with the spirit of 11-7-4(C)(1)(b) by breaking up
the length of façade.
• Roof is symmetrical and linear, and does not vary in form or height (11-7-4(C)(3)(a))
o Due to the nature of the Warehouse, no articulation in roof form or height is intended.
Creating articulation movements on the building’s roof complicates an otherwise simple
building structure. The building is not visible to the public, and adding unnecessary height
variations is costly and impractical and does not gain any function
• Material transitions on facades occur mid-field on flat surfaces, and not at inside corners or at
architectural elements (11-7-4(D)(4))
Due to the nature of the Warehouse, no variation in façade plane is intended. Creating large articulation
movements within the building perimeter complicates an otherwise simple building structure. Additionally,
the programming of the Warehouse space drives the open and rectilinear shape of the building. Exterior wall
equipment is not screened (11-30-9(A)(3))
o Building is set back from public view and is shielded by a fence.
The request to limit the number of materials, façade articulation, and roof variation is driven and resolved by
positioning the building deep within the Boeing campus and setback from the adjacent Greenfield Road and
neighboring industrial properties, thus minimizing the impact from deviations from the code.
C08117.001.00 DRB 08/04/2026  3