Insulated metal panels from Metl-Span—in a variety of profiles and colors—helped the Twin Rinks Ice Center at Eisenhower Park in Long Island, N.Y., achieve the architect’s desire for state-of-the-art durability, functionality, and aesthetics.

This 165,000-square-foot world-class facility houses two NHL-sized skating rinks, a personal fitness/sports physical therapy training area, pro shop, and private party rooms. Additional amenities include stadium seating, eight locker rooms, plus separate figure skating locker rooms.

Choosing insulated metal panels for the construction of new ice rinks is a growing trend. “It’s a hockey rink, they want to keep it cold,” said Bruce Forster of Stuart Berger Construction Corp. of Lynbrook, N.Y. “They wanted a durable exterior surface and a durable interior surface. It had to be something to keep it dry on the inside because humidity is a killer for ice. Like all rinks, there’s a humidity control system, but the insulated panels provide more efficiency.”

Robert Andrus, president of Andrus Architecture in Rockford, Mich., designed the Twin Rinks Ice Center, employing the wide variety of profiles. Andrus Architecture has evolved into a firm known for its work with ice rinks and charter schools.

“We use insulated metal panels for a lot of ice rinks, but because of the erection timetable and the aesthetics, we used more on this project than any other we’ve done,” Andrus said. “Insulated metal panels go up considerably faster than some other products. And because we don’t want them to look like a big metal building, we use a variety of profiles to break up the look.”

A total of six different profiles were used on this project: 13,800 square-feet of 3-inch 7.2 Insul-Rib in Regal Blue; 10,500 square-feet of 3-inch CF42 Striated in Brite Red; 5,100 square-feet of 4-inch ThermalSpace 42 in Pewter; 18,500 square-feet of 6-inch ThermalSpace 42 in Pewter; 4,200 square-feet of CF24 in Silver; and 1,600 square-feet of the CFR-42 Roof panel in Silver and Regal Blue.

Requirements for the Twin Inks Ice Center included sections of firewall, some two-hour rated and some one-hour. “With the product line, it was very easy to mesh these different products to meet the firewall requirements,” Andrus said. “We had a great color palette to choose from and the erection time met our schedule.

“Overall, I think everyone is very pleased with the exterior of the project. It’s definitely a great addition to their park system.”