Desoto County (Miss.) Schools wanted to create a learning environment for its future vocational student population with a goal of strengthening work force development in the region. Morin, a Kingspan Group Company, provided a multitude of profiles for the new 58,000 square foot building that met the aesthetic goal of reflecting the work going on inside.
“The primary design goal was to create an innovative building design that helped student recruitment with an affordable budget,” says Michel Lebel, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, of Allen & Hoshall of Memphis, Tenn. “Early in the programming phase, it was decided that the building would be used as a teaching tool to help promote some of the programs offered. Building materials, equipment and technologies were displayed in ways to help spark student interest.”
Among the programs offered at the Career & Technology Center in Horn Lake, Miss., are training in culinary, metal work/HVAC, automotive repair, carpentry, engineering/robotics, health sciences, digital media and information technology. “Both entrances utilized a variety of metal panel profiles and joint types to emphasize metal work and detailing,” Lebel says.
“They wanted something a little different, something a little edgier that still provided great durability,” Lebel says. “They didn’t want the standard red brick and green roof everybody does around here. It was a chance to do something a little different. Metal allows you a different level of creativity.”
MORIN’s F-12-0 in 22-gauge Galvalume Copper Penny was installed horizontally and vertically at the entrances, along with BR-35 Exposed Fastener Series siding in 22-gauge Galvalume Medium Gray. The BR-35 panel was also installed in 22-gauge Galvalume Seafoam Green. Among the other MORIN profiles installed on the Career & Technology Center were Concealed Fastener Series siding AA-12 in 22-gauge Galvalume in Copper Penny; Integrity Series siding XC-12 in 22-gauge Galvalume in Copper Penny and Bone White, as well as 0.050 Aluminum Mill Finish in Medium Gray and Seafoam Green; and SLR-16 and SLR-12 in 22-gauge Galvalume Bone White.
Maybe the most unique MORIN profile is the perforated panel at one end of the building surrounding the HVAC equipment on the ground – placed on the ground instead of the roof to allow for expansion and for students in the HVAC and metal working program to have access to as learning tools.
“We really wanted to keep your eyes moving when you looked at the building,” Lebel says. “We didn’t want the eyes to focus on something and end up dying there.”
Lebel says the installers did a great job of marrying the different MORIN profiles, including the perforated panels.
“We are very proud to have been a part of this project,” says Francisco Sanchez, Operating Manager of IP (Industrial Plan) Construction, which is owned by his wife, Perla. “My favorite part is the perforated panels. They lend a unique look, look nice and blend the colors together so naturally.
“My second favorite is the roof, mainly because of its size and how we were able to overcome the issue of raising 110-foot panels from the ground to the roof.”
Six IP Construction crew members lifted panels onto three forklifts, all with 30-foot long aluminum picks. The forklifts would raise 12 panels to the roofline, where 12 more crew members removed them from the forklifts and stacked them on the roof for installation. Sanchez says the panel staging was completed in a day.
Sanchez says any leftover material was donated to the school for metalworking students. He said some of their mock-ups of details employed on the building were pretty good. He wouldn’t be surprised if a graduate came to work for him in the near future.
Photographs by Mike Lebel