As one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly cities in the United States, Portland currently hosts the most LEED-certified buildings per capita in the nation. Portland Community College (PCC), the largest institution of higher learning in Oregon,is no exception.

As a new construction project, the PCC Southeast Center was to provide exterior insulation outside of framing, as required by code, while still fulfilling the architect's design idea. Having the insulation exterior of the building structure, Kingspan KarrierPanel provided the best thermal envelope and reduced thermal bridging, allowing the building to be fully passive.

In 2008, voters in Oregon approved a $374 million bond issue to renovate agingbuildings, update technology,and expand instruction by increasing classrooms throughout the PCC system. This bond directly relates to the college’s commitment to sustainability. The college's four main campuses: Cascade, Rock Creek, Southeast Center and Sylvania are committed to achieving LEED certification.

Anticipated to achieve LEED Silver certification,the panelswere the product of choice for PCC's Southeast Center construction project. Under this bond measure, the Southeast Center received a $36 million makeover to transform it into a comprehensive, full-service campus more than double its previous footprint.

The panels provide solutions for both vertical and horizontal wall applications. The PCC project followed a vertical application using single element cladding panels from Morin, a Kingspan Group Company. The design flexibility of the panels allowed the Morin panels to fulfill the architect's 12-inch wide module design requirement.

With a core of continuous, rigid polyiso insulation, the panelsprovide industry leading R- and U- values with superior airtightness performance, a major need in the Pacific Northwest climate. With a strong thermal performance R-value of 7.5 per inch, plus serving as a moisture and air barrier, these insulated metal panels contribute to LEED certification programs and the path to net-zero energy. Weighing only 3 pounds per square foot, they also reduce transport and installation energy.

"The Kingspan panels we used for this project directly contributed to the building scoring extremely high on LEED certification credits," said original Project Manager, Jeff Harbaugh of General Sheet Metal in Clackamas, Ore.

KS Series panels are recyclable, adding to the building's life-cycle benefits. Exterior wall systems last as long as the service life of a typical commercial building. The durable commercial wall systems also reduce operational costs for energy maintenance and offer multiple end-of-life reuse options, aligning with PCC's LEED certification commitment.

Ric Olander,Architectural Division Manager at General Sheet Metal, was brought in during the design phase to work with SRG Partnership by Walsh Construction in 2012, prior to the project going to bid. Olander worked on the project in the third and fourth quarters of 2013. As a single-component wall system, the panel is simple in detail and to attach, reducing schedules and installation errors. Olander confirmed the portion of the project using these panels was completed on time.

Once construction on the remaining renovation to pre-existing buildings is completed, the Southeast Center will have a total of six buildings covering 18 acres in the heart of Southeast Portland.