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For immediate release: For more information contact: Victoria Gallagher, CertainTeed July 8, 2014 (610) 341-7944 [email protected] www.certainteed.com/pressroom

Beauty and Performance Drive Philadelphia Architects’ Specification of CertainTeed Vinyl Siding in Outdoor Contemporary Art Installation

Cladding helps structure win top prize at New York City competition, “Folly 2014”

(Valley Forge, Pa.) – Philadelphia architectural firm Austin+Mergold won top honors for their part ship, part house large-scale art installation, which prominently features CertainTeed® Encore™ vinyl siding. The winning installation rose above 171 submissions from 17 countries in the annual Architectural League of New York’s “Folly 2014,” a competition among emerging architects to design and build a large-scale project for public display at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, New York.

The sculpture, named Sural™ Ark, in reference to Noah’s Ark, takes the form of an overturned ship and a typical suburban house. It spans more than 50 feet with an elevation of 16 feet and is comprised entirely of 2 x 6 lumber and a patchwork of vinyl siding – a material often used on nearby Queens residences. Austin+Mergold chose the materials after extensive abstract and hands-on research, in addition to representing the increasingly blurred lines between city, suburban environments, and rural living in America today.

“We had worked with CertainTeed vinyl siding products on a project in Central Pennsylvania a few years ago and noticed the ability of the vinyl material to bend and twist yet still have the capability of interlocking systematically to create a water-tight joint,” said Jason Austin, principal of Austin+Mergold. “We continued to test and explore the parametrics and formal attributes of the vinyl siding system in two art installations that were exhibited in Philadelphia News Release SuralArk – Page 2 of 4 galleries. We discovered that the most economical grade of vinyl siding provided for maximum flexibility, producing the most aggressive curvature. We had also tested other competitive vinyl siding manufacturers but CertainTeed performed the best.”

SuralArk utilizes Encore Double 4-inch Clapboard vinyl siding in the Desert Tan, Sterling Gray, Natural Clay, Oxford Blue and Sandstone Beige colors. The affordable, high quality panel features an attractive, natural woodgrain appearance.

The upturned ark also echoes Socrates Sculpture Park’s past while considering the future, and perhaps a possible escape from rising tides that submerged the park in October 2012 during Super Storm Sandy. It typifies the mission of the Folly competition, which was created to explore large-scale installations that help to link the worlds of art and architecture.

SuralArk will be on display until August 3, providing shelter and contemplative discussion for thousands of park visitors this summer. To learn more about the exhibition, visit www.archleague.org. For more information about Austin+Mergorld, visit www.austin- mergold.com.

When used for its primary manufactured purpose as a residential cladding, Encore vinyl siding combines great looks and affordability. It is virtually maintenance free and never needs painting. The product line includes 13 low-gloss colors with a wide variety of coordinating trim.

Encore is available in four popular styles: Double 4-inch Clapboard, which was used for Sural Ark, Double 4 1/2- inch Dutchlap, Double 5-inch Clapboard and Triple 3-inch Clapboard. In addition, the panel boasts a Class 1(A) fire rating, and includes a lifetime-limited warranty with PermaColor™ lifetime fade protection.

CertainTeed offers unsurpassed Freedom of Choice™ through its industry-leading portfolio of roofing, long-lasting polymer, insulated and vinyl siding as well as fence, railing, decking and exterior trim. CertainTeed offers the advantage of using exterior products from a single source News Release SuralArk – Page 3 of 4 that are designed to mix-and-match with each other and feature authentic textures, versatile styles and rich color combinations, for a beautifully coordinated look. As the result of a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, CertainTeed is the first manufacturer to issue and publish third-party validated life cycle assessments (LCA) for its vinyl and trim product lines. For more information, visit www.certainteed.com/freedomofchoice.

About CertainTeed Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, gypsum and ceilings.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 5,700 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. For six consecutive years, the company has received top honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its contributions in protecting the environment and was most recently the recipient of the 2013 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award. The group had total sales of approximately $3.3 billion in 2013. www.certainteed.com ###