TMP Architecture was tasked with leading an expansive renovation on Walled Lake Central High School building’s façade. The school in Walled Lake, Michigan, had been welcoming students for more than two decades, and the existing 25-year-old structure was failing, causing water intrusion to be an issue in the academic wing.

“We didn’t want to go back with a rain-screen style system if we could help it,” Bradley Pitt, the project’s job captain, said. “We were looking for a one-stop solution.”

This led the team to select insulated metal panels (IMPs) as the building envelope. IMPs provide four layers of protection – air, water, vapor, and insulation – in a single component system.

More than 16,000 square feet of Kingspan’s QuadCore B Designwall 2000 were used to renovate the school’s classroom pods. 

Kingspan’s QuadCore B insulated foam core is one of the most thermally efficient insulation cores on the market. This insulation creates a strong barrier against heat transfer, reducing heating and cooling costs for the school and maintaining a comfortable indoor environment for students during Michigan’s harsh winter months.

Designwall 2000 joints provide maximum thermal efficiency while creating a double barrier against air and water penetration. This water barrier eliminates the need for multiple waterproofing layers and materials, helping to streamline construction and lower costs.

IMPs also provided TMP Architecture aesthetic freedom, with a wide selection of profiles and colors. The panels can also be installed either horizontally or vertically, giving architects extensive design flexibility.

The team tried many panel layouts and color options but ultimately felt a horizontal pattern of greys meshed best with the building’s existing blue brick structure. 

Requiring only one installer, Liberty Sheet Metal, panels in the colors Ascot White, Dove Grey, and Zinc Grey were selected for the redesign. Pitt added that the long horizontal panel pattern helped create a unique expression that enhanced the overall aesthetic of the building.

“We were trying to keep the same sort-of look, or something that would go along with it, but get something that was new and fresh – in addition to being watertight,” Pitt said. “It was many years in the making.”

IMPs are providing Walled Lake Central High School with an aesthetic design, thermal efficiency, and a complete air and water barrier – with plans for a second phase of renovations in the future.