Beautiful on the outside and strong on the inside – that was the goal for the new C.J. “Pete” Silas Boys & Girls Club in Bartlesville, Okla.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America provide kids between the ages of 6 and 18 with a place to play, learn, socialize and develop skills to help them reach their full potential.

The C.J. “Pete” Silas Boys & Girls Club was fortunate to raise the funds to build a brand-new building to serve more than 200 kids and teens each day. The project includes a 30,000-square foot main building, a gym, outdoor sports fields, a teen center, learning centers, a technology and STEM lab, art and music spaces, and a kitchen.

Ambler Architects chose Kingspan insulated metal panels to clad the exterior of the building, creating an eye-catching, inviting look to welcome young members. They opted for Designwall 2000 architectural wall panels in a mix of colors: Light Gray, Arabian Blue, Deep Sea Blue and Slate Blue. More than 5,500 square-feet of IMPs cover the building’s exterior.

The Kingspan panels serve as both exterior and interior walls on portions of the facility, providing a tough interior wall that can withstand the punishment that kids dish out playing basketball and other sports and activities. It’s not just the metal providing toughness, but the high-tech coatings applied to them are engineered for durability and easy cleaning.

Different Settings

In addition to sports facilities like the Boys & Girls Club, insulated metal panels are a popular choice for other settings where a strong interior metal wall is needed, like warehouses, manufacturing facilities, food processing facilities, cold storage and airplane hangars. IMPs are typically manufactured with 22, 24 or 26-gauge metal skins. But that durability doesn’t mean having to sacrifice when it comes to the design aesthetics, as there are no limits to the architectural options when using IMPs.

IMPs also mean less time to complete the building envelope. The single-panel wall assembly eliminates the need for several steps that would be required using other construction methods—including insulation, interior framing and drywall installation—and eliminates the need for multiple trades. IMPs can also be installed in any weather. Depending on the job size and complexity, a four-person crew can install up to 5,000 square feet of insulated metal panels in an 8-hour shift when working on an industrial project, and 1,100 square feet in the same time frame on an architectural project. The speed of build helps cut construction time and costs, especially important for a nonprofit like the Boys & Girls Club.

Another advantage of IMPs is that the wall assembly acts as an air, water and vapor barrier, providing continuous insulation and exceptional thermal performance. Kingspan’s Designwall 2000 panels feature a special joint that provides maximum thermal efficiency while creating a double barrier against air and water penetration. The high R-values (ranging from 14 to 18) mean better control of heat flowing in and out of the building, reducing energy usage and keeping heating and cooling costs down. Thermal performance is enhanced since there is no metal conductance from exterior to interior facings.