LEWISVILLE, Texas — The Hillsboro (Ore.) School District made plans to construct stand-alone gymnasiums at elementary schools that were sharing gym and cafeteria space. W.L. Henry Elementary School and McKinney Elementary School were among the first of eight gymnasiums to be constructed, as a Metallic Buildings structure, completed with Metl-Span insulated metal panels (IMPs) for the roofing and walls.

“We wanted to design an exterior cladding system that was cost-effective, attractive, met energy requirements, was fast to construct, and most critically, would be compatible with a pre-engineered metal building structural system,” said Alyssa Leeviraphan, AIA, LEED AP, of Mahlum Architects of Portland. “This meant the panels would need to serve as the exterior cladding, the building envelope and the interior finish.

“These buildings were a gymnasium prototype constructed at eight different elementary school sites. The range of colors and profiles allowed each site to be customized to achieve its own unique identity.”

W.L. Henry

W.L. Henry’s 10,143 square feet of roofing IMPs had a 4-inch urethane core with a 26-gauge Galvalume exterior with a CF42R panel joint in PVDF Zinc Gray and a 26-gauge Galvalume Igloo White interior with a Mesa finish.

Three colors were chosen for the insulated metal wall panels, Zinc Gray (5,351 square feet. 4-inch urethane core), Weathered Copper (1,553 square feet, 2-1/2-inch urethane core) and Smoke Gray (1,004 square feet, 2-1/2-inch urethane core). The Zinc Gray wall panels had a 26-gauge interior panel in Igloo White with a Mesa finish. The Smoke Gray and Weathered Copper panels had a 26-gauge interior panel in Igloo White with a Light Mesa finish.

The W.L. Henry Gymnasium was completed in March 2021.

McKinney

McKinney’s 10,290 square feet of roofing IMPs had a 4-inch urethane core with a 24-gauge Galvalume exterior with a CF42R panel joint in PVDF Smoke Gray and a 26-gauge Galvalume Igloo White interior with a Mesa Finish.

McKinney also featured three colors for the insulated metal wall panels, Smoke Gray (5,410 square feet, 4-inch urethane core), Zinc Gray (1,647 square feet, 2-1/2-inch urethane core) and Pacific Blue (643 square feet, 2-1/2-inch urethane core).

“During discussions on the eight gymnasiums to the Hillsboro School District, we encouraged them to use IMPs to better meet the energy code with an excellent durability,” said Clint Jackson, president of Five Star Builders in Banks, Ore. “The completed projects were very nice-looking buildings with a long-lasting durability and require little maintenance.”

McKinney Gymnasium was finished in September 2021.

“Another unique feature was that the metal panels occurred above a metal-framed brick rainscreen wall that provided a durable base around the building,” said Bryan Hollar, AIA, of Mahlum Architects. “This made for some complex detailing at the transition between the top of the brick wall and bottom of the insulated metal panels. The Metl-Span trim profiles allowed this detail transition to be elegant and weather-resistant.

“Still, the most unique feature was the range of colors and profile options offered by Metl-Span. This allowed our design team to break down the scale of the façade and customize the color palette at each building site. Additionally, the range of Metl-Span panel thicknesses offered more opportunities to create relief in portions of the façade, as well as a higher R-value, which was utilized in the roofs.”

Project Details

• Architect: Mahlum Architects, Portland 
• IMP Installer: Five Star Builders, Banks, Ore.
• Completion Date: March 2021 (W.L. Henry Gymnasium) September 2021 (McKinney Gymnasium)
• Roof Components: 4-inch urethane core IMPs with a 26-gauge Galvalume exterior with a CF42R panel joint in PVDF Zinc Gray; 26-gauge Galvalume Igloo White interior with a Mesa finish; 4-inch urethane core with a 24-gauge Galvalume exterior with a CF42R panel joint in PVDF Smoke Gray.