Baldassarra Architects was tasked with giving 5400 Explorer Drive – a 250,000 square foot high-profile industrial building that sits along Ontario’s Highway 401 – a distinguished presence in this high-traffic area. Located in Mississauga and owned by Polaris Realty, the building is also strategically located within the Airport Corporate Centre across from Toronto Pearson International Airport. 

Baldassarra Architects opted to use insulated metal panels (IMPs) to balance both the functionality and aesthetics of the building. Requiring only one installer – Frost, Inc. – nearly 83,000 square feet of Kingspan panels were used on 5400 Explorer Drive. 

“The design of the building was important because it’s located in a corporate industrial business park with a lot of high-profile buildings in that area,” said Michael Baldassarra of Baldassarra Architects. “We thoughtfully used IMPs along the north side of 5400 Explorer, which faces Highway 401, where it gets a lot of visibility.”

About 69,000 square feet of Kingspan’s QuadCore panels (KS Shadowline in Imperial White, KS Micro-Rib in Zinc Grey, and Optimo in Zinc Grey, Imperial White, and Driftwood colors) were used. An additional 14,000 square feet of K-Roc HF panels were used in Imperial White. 

Baldassarra Architects used Kingspan’s K-Roc panels for their superior fire protection in sensitive environments. These panels are specifically designed for applications where specific fire resistance levels are required.

“From a technical perspective, we had a limiting distance challenge along the west face of the building. To get around that, we went with Kingspan's fire-rated K-Roc panel, which provided us with the fire resistance rating that we needed,” said Baldassarra. 

Kingspan’s KS Series panels provide unique aesthetics through a wide range of profiles while delivering high thermal performance. Adjustable module widths can integrate for distinct architectural flair, and the panels can also be customized with trimless ends and pre-formed corners to provide a clean, finished appearance.

“Due to the height of the building, the primary function was to enable maximum storage for distribution and warehousing. Placing the IMPs horizontally breaks up that massive height nicely and changes the orientation when you look at the building,” added Baldassarra. “We also did the horizontal IMPs in a Dove Gray base and then Imperial White above that. Creating this different layer with the base also helped break up the height of the building.”

In addition to creating a pleasing design and meeting fire rating requirements, IMPs also provided other benefits, including speed of build and the availability of the material.

“Construction on this project was started post-COVID in early 2023, so finding materials that were made locally and could be produced quickly was important,” continued Baldassarra. “IMPs also helped get the building closed up for winter elements and provided us with a weather-tight barrier to allow construction on the inside to commence quickly.”

5400 Explorer was completed in March of 2024 and has since welcomed a tenant into the state-of-the-art industrial space.