The Young Family Athletic Center is a 122,000 square foot facility that features a gym with eight basketball courts and 12 volleyball courts. It also includes two pools – an 8-lane, 25-meter competition pool and a 4-lane, 25-meter warmup pool.

Located in Norman, Oklahoma, the athletic facility was completed in early 2024 in partnership with professional basketball player Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, and his Trae Young Family foundation.

The facility came as a result of Norman Forward – an initiative to renovate, expand, construct and fund quality-of-life projects in the area including recreational facilities, libraries, parks, athletic venues, public art and more throughout the city.

When designing The Young Family Athletic Center, architects Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture (BRS) and Frankfurt Short Bruza (FSB) were tasked with designing a facility that would help to establish Norman as a hub in the sports tourism market by bringing in more tournaments and world class athletes.

A clean, modern aesthetic was essential for the building in order to attract sports tourism to the market. Because of this, the architects opted for insulated metal panels (IMPs) to add architectural flair to the project through a wide range of colors, patterns, textures and finishes.

Requiring one installer, Engineered Wall Systems, the quick and easy installation of IMPs provided a weathertight building envelope in reduced time, helping construction to stay on track.

In addition to speed of build and aesthetic benefits, IMPs also came with an added bonus for the facility – thermal efficiency. IMPs provide strong thermal barriers to maintain safe and comfortable environments by creating airtight and watertight continuous insulation seals. This also helps to reduce the facility’s energy consumption. In a facility of this size, IMPs can help reduce heating and cooling costs and help to regulate indoor temperatures for athletes.

Nearly 40,000 thousand square feet of Kingspan’s KS Micro-Rib and Optimo panels in the colors Regal White, Weathered Zinc and a custom red shade were used to achieve the desired look of the project.

Kingspan’s KS Micro-Rib panels create a highly attractive linear appearance with subtle shadows. They can be applied horizontally or vertically and use a patented double seal integrated joint.

Kingspan’s Optimo panels can also be applied horizontally or vertically and come with a wide variety of module widths to meet design requirements. The use of pearlescent micas or metallic colors provides a dynamic finish to the project and delivers a flat and aesthetically appealing modern building envelope.