The Hillsboro (OR) School District made plans to construct stand-alone gymnasiums at elementary schools that were sharing gym and cafeteria space. W.L. Henry Elementary School and McKinney Elementary School were among the first of the eight gymnasiums to be constructed. They were built using metal building framing systems from Metallic Buildings, and skinned with insulated metal wall and roof panel systems (IMPs) from Metl-Span.

“We wanted to design an exterior cladding system that was cost-effective, attractive, met energy requirements, was fast to construct, and most critically, would be compatible with a pre-engineered metal building structural system,” says Alyssa Leeviraphan, AIA, LEED AP, of Mahlum Architects of Portland. “This meant the panels would need to serve as the exterior cladding, the building envelope and the interior finish.

“These buildings were a gymnasium prototype constructed at eight different elementary school sites. The range of colors and profiles allowed each site to be customized to achieve its own unique identity.”

W.L. Henry’s 10,143 square feet of 4"-thick, urethane-cored insulated metal roofing panels have 26-gauge Galvalume exterior and interior skins. The panels are connected with CF42R joints. The exterior sides of the panels are finished with a Zinc Gray PVDF paint. The interior skins are Igloo White with a Mesa finish. Three colors were chosen for the insulated metal wall panels: Zinc Gray (5,351 square feet of panels with a 4-inch urethane core), Weathered Copper (1,553 square feet with a 2-1/2-inch urethane core) and Smoke Gray (1,004 square feet with a 2-1/2-inch urethane core). The Zinc Gray wall panels have 26-gauge interior skins in Igloo White with a Mesa finish. The Smoke Gray and Weathered Copper panels have 26-gauge interior skins in Igloo White with a Light Mesa finish.

McKinney’s 10,290 square feet of 4"-thick, urethane-cored insulated metal roofing panels also have 26-gauge Galvalume interior skins in Igloo White with a Mesa Finish, but the exterior sheets are a heavier 24-gauge Galvalume with a Smoke Gray finish. Those panels also used the CF42R joint detail. McKinney's three colors of insulated metal wall panels were Smoke Gray (5,410 square feet with a 4-inch urethane core), Zinc Gray (1,647 square feet with a 2-1/2-inch urethane core) and Pacific Blue (643 square feet with a 2-1/2-inch urethane core).

“During discussions on the eight gymnasiums to the Hillsboro School District, we encouraged them to use IMPs to better meet the energy code with an excellent durability,” says Clint Jackson, president of Five Star Builders in Banks, OR. “The completed projects were very nice-looking buildings with a long-lasting durability and require little maintenance.”

The W.L. Henry Gymnasium was completed in March 2021, while the McKinney Gymnasium was finished in September 2021.

“Another unique feature was that the metal panels occurred above a metal-framed brick rainscreen wall that provided a durable base around the building,” says Bryan Hollar, AIA, of Mahlum Architects. “This made for some complex detailing at the transition between the top of the brick wall and bottom of the insulated metal panels. The Metl-Span trim profiles allowed this detail transition to be elegant and weather-resistant.

“Still, the most unique feature was the range of colors and profile options offered by Metl-Span. This allowed our design team to break down the scale of the façade and customize the color palette at each building site. Additionally, the range of Metl-Span panel thicknesses offered more opportunities to create relief in portions of the façade, as well as a higher R-value, which was utilized in the roofs.”

For more information about metal building systems and products from Metallic Buildings, click here.