Founded in 1972, the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) was voted one of 2022’s best graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report. OSU Center for Health Sciences offers graduate and professional degrees with more than 1,000 students enrolled in various academic programs.

The North Hall Academic Facility is the newest building on the OSU-CSH campus. According to the university, the 120,000-square-foot North Hall building is home to the new Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Tulsa, as well new anatomy and neuroanatomy labs, three classrooms, 65 graduate program student study carrels, 21 conference and meeting rooms and department and administrative office spaces.

For the building's exterior, Sooner Recon, Tulsa, OK, fabricated and installed 17,000 sq. ft. of Laminators Incorporated's Omega-Lite® ACM panels using Laminators’ proprietary Dry Seal installation system. Overseeing the project was general contractor Flintco, also of Tulsa.

The building's Tulsa-based architect, Dewberry, required that the ACM panels match OSU’s signature orange color. Laminators was able to fulfill that specification. It supplied panels in the custom-created Power Orange color, in addition to standard PVDF/Kynar 500® colors Clear Matte and Classic Bronze.

"This was an exciting and challenging project for us to be involved in," said Jared Zickefoose, AIA, NCARB, of Sooner Recon. "From our past experience in working with Laminators, we knew right away that Laminators would be the perfect strategic partner to ensure this project's success. Laminators' ability to match the school's custom color was key, and the panels themselves were great to work with. Each panel was custom cut in our downtown Tulsa shop to meet the design team's intent. Our fabrication team and installers did a fantastic job. A collaborative project that everyone on the teams can be proud of for many years."

Omega-Lite ACM panels offer a highly decorative, strong, and durable surface finish for exterior wall surfaces. Composed of a polypropylene, lightweight, corrugated core between two finished aluminum sheets, these panels are non-absorbent, water-resistant and easy to maintain.

In addition to Laminators’ standard and specialty colors, they also offer unlimited custom colors. As they did for North Hall, Laminators can match custom colors to exact specifications, making it easy to maintain consistency with corporate identity projects.

The Dry Seal system is ideal for installing the Omega-Lite panels and creating a high-performance, pressure-equalized wall system that compartmentalizes the air cavity and allows for drainage and ventilation. This system reduces moisture-related issues within the wall cavity.

Omega-Lite installed with the Dry Seal system passed the AAMA 508 testing standards (Voluntary Test and Classification Method for Pressure Equalized Rain Screen Wall Cladding Systems); as well as met NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 285, Miami-Dade County Product Control and Florida Product Approval requirements. Laminators Inc. manufactures high quality ACM panels that meet these stringent performance levels and provide design professionals and building owners the confidence that their cladding will withstand the most extreme conditions.