The plain box is no more. And it's partly because of energy efficient, cost-efficient and attractive insulated metal panel systems like those from Kingspan Insulated Panels. The company's KS Shadowline insulated metal panels were recently specified for the Caledon Industrial Park in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. In addition to being a candidate for LEED® Silver certification, the building is a definite cut above the usual in terms of aesthetics. 

Tony Baldassarra, Principal at Baldassarra Architects, is part of the reason for the change too. His firm is always looking to innovate, especially when it comes to the types of industrial spaces now in such high demand as a result of the e-commerce boom.

“We just have to keep innovating and coming up with new ideas. We can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again,” Baldassarra remarked.

When it came to the design for the brand-new Caledon Industrial Park in Caledon, Ontario, Baldassarra sought materials that would give the 1.6 million-square-foot logistics space a corporate appearance, while using energy-efficient, sustainable materials. The industrial park was executed in three phases. The first, Phase A, included a large distribution warehouse, finished in 2019. Phases B and C consist of 573,083-square-feet of space, now seeking LEED® Silver certification, a priority for the owners.

Approximately 85,000 sq. ft. of Kingspan's KS Shadowline insulated metal panels were ordered from the nearby Kingpan Insulated Panels plant at the start of the project. This move immediately cut down on embodied carbon, both in their manufacturing and by immediately reducing the distance the panels had to travel to reach their final destination. The panels also reduce operational carbon for the tenants through energy efficiency. KS Shadowline panels are designed with energy efficiency in mind, with R-values that can reach up to 8 per inch when equipped with Kingspan’s advanced closed-cell QuadCore® technology.

It took just one year to complete Phases B and C. With speed-of-build extremely important, insulated metal panels helped to reduce delays. With just one installer, TriAxis, the building envelope was closed quickly, preventing any issues with frost.

The KS Shadowline panels allowed Baldassarra the flexibility to create a design using colors that would pop, especially as people drive by in the growing Caledon area. With Zinc Grey and Driftwood providing contrast, along with the Accent Fin™ in an A-Frame shape, Baldassarra and his team broke the mold of the typical industrial park.

“There’s always a challenge of trying to make these buildings look less boxy with four straight walls. We want to add dimension, articulation and color. The Accent Fins™ add a lot of texture to the plain walls,” Baldassarra said.

While insulated metal panels have long been used for industrial buildings, architects are increasingly using more eye-catching colors, design flares and accent features in their big-box designs, transforming projects like Caledon Industrial Park. With aesthetics now a key piece of the puzzle, giant boxes are coming together in creative new ways.