Jefferson Elementary School in Richland, WA, is a prototype school with its own flair to grab people’s attention on a busy street corner. The pop of color expressing the school’s pride is from Citadel Architectural Products' Envelope 2000® metal composite material (MCM) Rainscreen (RS) and Reveal (RV) systems.

“The design goal was to meet the needs of the end users with a unique flair and functionality,” says Kathleen Hoover, project coordinator at Design West Architects in Kennewick, WA. 

Pacific NW Contractors, Yakima, WA, installed Envelope 2000 in Regal Blue (2,040 square feet), Sky Blue (1,080 square feet), Slate Grey (2,820 square feet) and Silver Grey (1,080 square feet). The home of the Eagles proudly displays its school colors with these metal panel options.

Envelope 2000 is a 4-mm-thick MCM with a durable, 0.105-inch thermoset phenolic resin core that provides an ultra-smooth substrate for the aluminum skin. RV is a field-assembled system that uses one-piece extruded aluminum moldings for attachment. The RS system allows incidental moisture to enter and then exit through weepholes. The systems were sold by Pacific Architectural Products, Clackamas, WA.

“I have been installing Citadel panels for about 25 years,” says David Pitts, president of Pacific NW Contractors. “It is a quality system, and I like the way it works. It is so easy to install.” 

Metal wall panels were included in the design because of their durability, design flexibility, rainscreen capabilities and contrast with other materials. Citadel was the right choice for the school because it offers a variety of panel profiles and options, like its joinery, colors, sizes and ability to create a custom pattern.

“The challenges were the sequencing of the metal panels and coordinating it with dissimilar, adjacent materials and the flashings and sealant,” Hoover notes. “The contractor did a great job, and everyone was pleased with the outcome of the metal panel product.”

Despite the challenges, Pitts believes the install came together because of pre-planning and patience. He added that in the roughly 50 years that he has been involved in construction, this was the first project that did not have a punch list. “This project was challenging, and the install took longer than anticipated. But it looks awesome,” Pitts says. 

The new 65,000-square-foot school has one- and two-story levels for its 630 students. A third-floor mechanical mezzanine makes equipment accessible and leaves school space dedicated for quiet learning.