Walled Lake Central High School in Walled Lake, Michigan, has been serving students and the community for more than two decades. But the 25-year-old building was beginning to show its age, and water intrusion had become an issue in the academic wing. As a solution, TMP architecture turned to insulated metal wall panels from Kingspan.
“We were looking for a one-stop solution,” Bradley Pitt, the project’s job captain, said. “We didn’t want to go back with a rain-screen style system if we could help it.”
This led the team to select insulated metal panels (IMPs) as the building envelope. IMPs provide four layers of protection – air, water, vapor, and insulation – in a single component system.
More than 16,000 square feet of Kingspan’s QuadCore B Designwall 2000 in the colors Ascot White, Dove Grey, and Zinc Grey were selected to renovate the school’s classroom pods – a process that, according to Pitt, took the team a long time.
“We were trying to keep the same sort-of look, or something that would go along with it, but get something that was new and fresh – in addition to being watertight,” Pitt said. “It was many years in the making.”
Requiring only one installer, Liberty Sheet Metal, IMPs provided TMP Architecture aesthetic freedom, with a wide selection of profiles and colors. The panels can also be installed either horizontally or vertically, giving architects extensive design flexibility.
The team tried many panel layouts and color options but ultimately felt a horizontal pattern of greys meshed best with the building’s existing blue brick structure. Pitt added that the long horizontal panel pattern helped create a unique expression that enhanced the overall aesthetic of the building.
Kingspan’s Designwall 2000 joints provide maximum thermal efficiency while creating a double barrier against air and water penetration. This water barrier eliminates the need for multiple waterproofing layers and materials, helping to streamline construction and lower costs.
Kingspan’s QuadCore B insulated foam core is one of the most thermally efficient insulation cores on the market. This insulation creates a strong barrier against heat transfer, reducing heating and cooling costs for the school and maintaining a comfortable indoor environment for students during Michigan’s harsh winter months.
IMPs are providing Walled Lake Central High School with an aesthetic design, thermal efficiency, and a complete air and water barrier – with plans for a second phase of renovations in the future.