Georgia's Brookhaven City Centre designed to WELL and LEED criteria, featuring EFCO high-performance, aluminum-framed windows, entrances, storefronts, curtain wall and colorful glass panels
Posted on May 28th, 2026 by Heather West
Serving as a hub of civic activity and events, Georgia’s newly constructed Brookhaven City Centre includes a permanent City Hall for one of America’s newest cities. Incorporated in 2012, the City of Brookhaven sought an iconic, modern building that emphasized transparency and connection, while upholding functionality and sustainability. A modern reimagination of traditional governmental architecture, the building features EFCO window, entrance, storefront and curtain wall systems.
Brookhaven City Centre was designed by Sizemore Group and built by McCarthy + Barnsley to be WELL Building Gold Certified by International Well Building Institute and to meet LEED Gold standards of the U.S. Green Building Council. The 58,250-square-foot building is the largest building to register with Georgia’s Carbon Tax Credit and the state’s first use of mass timber construction on a municipal building. The project also supports moving city operations from leased office buildings into city-owned properties.
Multiple EFCO aluminum-framed fenestration systems were selected and installed to meet the project’s requirements for natural light, outdoor views, thermal and acoustical comfort, and durable, recyclable material choices. Custom Aluminum Systems, Inc. (CASI) supplied glazing contractor Jones’ Glass Inc. with a complete package of EFCO D518 swing entrance doors, XTherm SX45 sliding windows, 5600 curtain wall, and 401, 402 and 433 storefront systems.
Working together with CASI and Jones’ Glass, the EFCO systems support the project’s focus on occupant wellbeing, energy-efficiency, environmental responsibility and visual appeal. As a single-source manufacturer and brand of Apogee Architectural Metals, EFCO finished its aluminum framing in a Champagne anodize for a uniform look across all products. EFCO also provided the colorful glass panels that enhance its quiet exposed-timber interiors and give the atrium and lobby their distinctive, welcoming appearance.
An environment to achieve greatness
Brookhaven City Centre is located on the northeast edge of Atlanta in DeKalb County. Home to city and county offices, 60% of the building is public space available for meetings and events. The structure encompasses three floors plus a rooftop terrace and a parking garage. This civic, mixed-use, transit-oriented development is conveniently positioned next to the MARTA rail station.
“Brookhaven City Centre was architecturally designed to celebrate diversity and honor the city’s commitment to the community,” said Sizemore Group’s CEO, Bill de St. Aubin, AIA.
• “An environment to achieve greatness” with daylighting in 90% of occupied interior spaces, all having views of the exterior and connection to the natural world, and enhanced indoor air quality with increased ventilation.
• “A building for the people” with acoustic considerations to provide loud and quiet spaces. Outside noise reduction was a concern with the building’s proximity to the MARTA and Norfolk Southern rail tracks and the busy Peachtree Road.
• “Healthy materials for occupants and the ecology” that had Environmental Production Declarations (EPDs).
• A building that conserves energy with above-code energy use reduction at 30-40% over ASHRAE 90.1 baseline standards.
The EFCO fenestration systems helped accomplish all Brookhaven City Centre’s design goals and performance requirements. CASI’s president Mark Cox explained, “This was a joint design-development effort between CASI and our customer, Jones’ Glass. We both worked hand-in-hand with the general contractor and the Sizemore Group. Everything went as planned.”
“Everything went smoothly,” agreed Zach Moody, project manager with Jones’ Glass. “CASI is always a pleasure to work with.”
Comfortable and colorful
“Determining how to achieve the desired glass colors in the atrium was a challenge,” Moody said. “We ultimately incorporated the colors into the interlayer of the glass within the STC panels. EFCO consistently delivers excellent STC panels and other prefabricated window systems, making them my preferred choice for these products.”
These insulated, laminated glazing panels were produced with Viracon clear vision glass and a colorful red, blue, yellow and green translucent interlayer. Like EFCO, Viracon is a brand of Apogee Enterprises, Inc.
The City of Brookhaven noted, “In addition to the changing tapestry of colors throughout the atrium all day long, the window glass symbolizes the diversity of Brookhaven demographically, as well as geographically.”
In addition to the colorful STC panels, the building’s other EFCO storefront and curtain wall systems feature a light green, tinted glass band. Aligned horizontally, this ribbon of green glass stretches across the upper stories’ window bays and corner curtain wall, and throughout the street-level storefront. It follows along the main entry doors, above which the EFCO curtain wall rises. Aluminum mullions finished to match the framing accentuate the glass lites’ consistent alignment and proportional scale. Decorative masonry, fieldstone and metal panels separate each window bay to present a less monolithic and more approachable overall structure.
Energy-efficient, healthy and sustainable
The EFCO storefront, curtain wall, entrances and windows with clear vision glass provide access to natural light and views in 90% of the occupied spaces. Allowing for natural ventilation and fresh air, EFCO XTherm SX45 Series sliding windows offer an ultra-thermal system to meet ambitious energy goals and stretch codes.
Supporting comfortable interior temperatures for occupants and above-code energy efficiency for the building’s operation, Sizemore Group specified fenestration with a low U-value and a low solar heat gain coefficient. EFCO systems are successfully tested to meet thermal and structural performance requirements plus air, water and condensation resistance.
EFCO thermally broken framing systems with anodized finishes also support healthy indoor air quality. The insulated framing minimizes condensation on the interior, which reduces the opportunity for mold growth. Anodized aluminum contains no VOCs; it is an inert material that is noncombustible, 100% recyclable and poses no health risks.
Assisting design teams with informed material choices, EFCO offers EPDs for all its products on Brookhaven City Centre. The aluminum framing for these systems was manufactured with recycled aluminum. At the end of their long life on the building, EFCO aluminum systems can be 100% recycled and reused in future products.
Along with a uniform appearance and high performance, EFCO ensured its multiple framing systems were engineered for compatibility, saving time and associated labor costs during installation. Moody confirmed, “Installation went great.”
Connection, creativity and civic pride
Construction began in Oct. 2023 on the site of a former parking lot. The City of Brookhaven celebrated the project’s grand opening in August 2025. Justis Brogan, senior vice president and Atlanta business unit leader at McCarthy Building Companies, noted, “The finished product is the result of thoughtful contribution made by the construction and design teams, trade partners, MARTA and input from the community during the planning process.”
“The advent of Brookhaven City Centre is a pivotal moment for us,” said Mayor John Park. “We enter a new chapter of bringing unification to the community, which is a living, breathing example of our slogan, ‘better together.’”
“Brookhaven City Centre reflects Brookhaven’s energy, diversity and dedication to inclusive progress. City Centre will serve as a vibrant stage for civic life and community connection for generations to come,” said Mayor Pro Tempore and District 4 Councilmember John Funny.
Brookhaven City Centre; 4001 Peachtree Rd NE, Brookhaven, GA 30319; https://www.brookhavencitycentre.com
• Owner: City of Brookhaven; Brookhaven, Georgia; https://www.brookhavenga.gov
• Architect: Sizemore Group; Atlanta; https://sizemoregroup.com
• General contractor: McCarthy + Barnsley, a Joint Venture
- McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (McCarthy); Atlanta; https://www.mccarthy.com
- Barnsley Construction Group (Barnsley); Atlanta; https://barnsleygroup.com
• Glass fabricator: Viracon, a brand of Apogee Enterprises, Inc.; Owatonna, Minnesota; https://viracon.com
• Glazing contractor: Jones’ Glass Inc.; Palmetto, Georgia; https://jonesglassinc.com
• Manufacturer’s representative: Custom Aluminum Systems, Inc. (CASI); Roswell, Georgia; http://www.casi-ga.com
• Manufacturer and finisher – storefront, entrance and curtain wall systems: EFCO, a brand of Apogee Architectural Metals; Monett, Missouri; https://apogeearchmetals.com
• Photo credit – exterior images: ©Abstract Photography, Terry Wieckert; courtesy Apogee Architectural Metals
• Photo credit – interior images: courtesy of Explore Brookhaven, https://www.explorebrookhaven.com; and Apogee Architectural Metals
• Video tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIiafnxaLlI
• Architectural rendering video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1IAYnOgb2Y
About Apogee Architectural Metals
Part of Apogee Enterprises, Inc., Apogee Architectural Metals provides the U.S. commercial architectural industry with EFCO, Tubelite and Wausau Window brands’ best-in-class aluminum framing, fenestration and window products, plus single-source finishing services through Linetec.
Learn more about Apogee Architectural Metals and its products at https://apogeearchmetals.com.