An integral part of a well-rounded education involves obtaining real-world experience within your chosen field. That's always been the credo for Butler Technology and Career Development Schools of Hamilton, OH, which operates 10 technical schools throughout southwestern Ohio. Nowhere is it more apparent though than in the Dayton suburb of West Chester where the educational entity's new 26-acre Bioscience Center campus seeks to bring internship and placement opportunities quite literally to the school's doorstep.
More than a decade in the making and heralded as an innovative step forward, the idea to develop the campus that includes both a school building and the types of businesses that could train and employ attending students was developed through a partnership between Butler Tech and the West Chester-Liberty Chamber Alliance. To ensure the vision had a concrete space in which to be realized, architects from McGill Smith Punshon, Inc. of Cincinnati designed a primary educational structure that would grab attention in the short term, and allow for expansion in the future. The resultant 32,000 square-foot building is sleek and modern, and features on its exterior red ALPOLIC aluminum composite metal (ACM) wall panels finished with a Valflon® fluropolymer (FEVE) resin-based paint finish from Minneapolis-based Valspar.
ALPOLIC ACM is a product of Mitsubishi Plastics Composites America Inc. of Chesapeake, VA. Fabricating the material into panels and installing them as part of the building's rainscreen cladding system was Valley Interior Systems Inc. of Cincinnati, OH. The flexible metal panels were a perfect fit for the building’s slope, and the bright red color helps draw attention to the state-of-the-art facility.
Because of its high gloss retention and vibrant pigments, Valflon is a top choice for establishments that are identified by their colors, which is exactly what the designers wanted for this project. Because color was so important to the overall design, architects knew the chosen coating would need to last against weathering agents like acid rain, ultraviolet rays and airborne chemicals. Valflon is highly resistant to all of them, which helped architects be even more confident in this coating selection. Valflon adds depth of color and resists natural chalking and fading, allowing for a lengthened lifespan of both the coating itself and the building as a whole.
A second construction phase is scheduled for a future build-out and will include adding an additional 8,000 square-feet of space to accommodate adult programming, and developers hope to bring in private business tenants as well. With a final vision of creating a job-ready campus in which students can study and work in adjacent buildings, the aesthetic appeal is sure to help draw in talent.
The campus' education building was completed in 2015. Two general contractors were involved: Touchstone CPM Inc. of Lima, OH, and Shook Construction Co. of Dayton.
To learn more about ALPOLIC ACM and other products by Mitsubishi Plastics Composites America Inc., click here.
Photographs by McGill Smith Punshon