The studio and residence hall facility for the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH, is now located in striking new and renovated facilities, featuring metal panels from Petersen Aluminum.

The project involved relocation and renovation of the original Manchester High School, a two-story brick building constructed in the 1840’s, to one side of the site. A six-story steel-framed building was then erected adjacent to it to provide studio space and student housing.

The 32,000 sq. ft. facility has received LEED Gold certification and is the first urban campus building in the state to include alternative energies in the design. The green technologies in the building include geo-thermal wells for heating and cooling, photovoltaic collection systems, vegetative roof and a high-performance envelope.

Approximately 9,500 sq. ft. of Petersen Snap-Clad Panels and Flush Panels finished in Zinc Metallic were used to clad the new structure.

The building includes 11 new studios with space for liberal arts, art education, illustration and digital labs as well as four floors of suite-style dormitory rooms housing 54 students.

Design for the project was provided by Dennis Mires, PA, The Architects, Manchester, NH. “The design evolved as a response to the mixed-use program and the desire to reuse the historic building on the urban lot,” Mires said as previously reported. “Metal is a contemporary material that allowed us to differentiate the form with the same material and finish, and yet create different textures—the varying width, vertical standing-seam form versus the metal shingles form. It also provided a hand-crafted character using an industrial material that seemed appropriate for an art college.”

The panel contractor on the job was A.W. Therrian Roofing & Sheet Metal, Manchester, NH. The construction manager was Milestone Engineering & Construction, Inc., Concord, NH.