This course is part of the Metal Architecture Academy

What They Are
Future-oriented buildings require future-oriented products. Insulated Metal Panels (IMPs) are a lightweight system of exterior wall and roof panels with metal skins and an insulating foam core. First developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), these panels have superior insulating properties, and their outstanding spanning capabilities and one-pass installation makes them quick to install, providing unit cost savings when compared to other wall assemblies. To deliver their high-performance insulation, foam is injected, or poured in place, between two metal sheets, where it then undergoes a chemical reaction, causing it to expand and bond to the metal skins, thereby completely filling the interior cavity between the metal skins. The result is a solid panel composite system that provides superior thermal value and resists moisture, insect, and rodent infiltration. IMPs are available in a wide variety of colors, widths, profiles, and finishes, enabling the realization of virtually any desired aesthetic for walls and roofs. IMPs can also be curved and formed and come in a variety of high-performance coatings. Expanding upon the various profiled options, designers can choose walls that are ribbed, fluted, or planked. For flat walls, finishes can be flat, textured, or striated. Additional design features include joint reveal widths, formed corner panels, end folds and treatments, heavier gauge flat facings, and integrated windows and louver systems. Another available finish feature is embossing, which creates surface texture on metal coils. This process flattens wavy coils and eliminates the "mirror” effect of smooth finishes. It is also a useful way to mask minor blemishes such as paint scratches and surface variations. Nondirectional embossing can be applied to create a uniform pattern, whereas directional embossing produces linear lines along the length of the coil. Typically, the most used metal substrates for IMP faces are G90 galvanized steel or aluminum-zinc coated steel, while some custom panels are made from stainless steel or aluminum. For the interior, a typical finish is a standard polyester 0.8 mm—including the primer—in a light-reflective and easy-to-maintain color. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-compliant finishes and stainless steel also are available for required applications, such as food processing and storage. Performance-wise, architects can specify various panel insulation values, span lengths, and load/span capabilities. In the field, IMPs are not only considered the primary exterior finish, but now also are being designed as the primary building envelope, and can be clad with various exterior cladding systems, such as brick veneer.

Where They’re Found
Commercial and Industrial: IMPs are ideal for all types of commercial and industrial buildings including institutional, recreational, government buildings, and manufacturing facilities. Projects from schools to retail centers to power plants benefit from the unique energy efficient insulation, lightweight construction, durability, and cost-effective, timely installation of single component Insulated Metal Panels. IMPs also provide solutions for a variety of climate considerations, including temperature, humidity, airborne particles, and air movement, among others.
Architectural: Architectural IMPs not only have the normal attributes of those used in commercial and industrial builds, such as high insulation values, speed of build, vertical and horizontal applications, but also incorporate options such as custom shapes and widths, special custom colors and finishes, and custom fabrication, including, but not limited to, factory bent corners, curved panels, and trimless ends. Architectural IMPs offer options that can incorporate panels that coalesce with windows, louvers, sunshades, or other integrated products to offer total building envelope solutions. Their flexibility provides architects freedom to create unique building designs.
Cold Storage: Insulated metal panels are considered the ultimate solution for climate-controlled facilities. Whether the need is for manufacturing, processing, storage, or distribution of perishable food or other materials, an IMP wall can meet the demands. Available in panel thicknesses from 2-6 inches, a wall can be designed to meet specific thermal performance requirements. Additional features include the panel’s long spanning capability, flat and ribbed shaped panels, high performance coatings, and special joint designs and details to meet safe hygiene and contamination requirements.
Insulated Roof: IMPs are the roofing solution that provides greatest insulation, simplest maintenance and longest life coupled with quickest installation for low- and high-rise commercial and industrial roofing applications. The essentially two-step installation process limits exposure to accidents, reduces the number of installation steps and materials required, increasing the speed of installation, and reducing down time, while providing a roof with superior insulation properties that can last more than four decades.

DEFINING IMPS

Photo courtesy of Kingspan Insulated Panels

To achieve ambitious thermal values and energy savings, and earn a LEED Platinum certification, very early in the process the decision was made to use insulated metal panels.

Project: Ecofibre
Location: Georgetown, Kentucky
Architect: JRA Architects
Photography: JRA Architects

Realizing the ambitious requirement for the new USA Headquarters of Australian-based company Ecofibre in Kentucky was a challenge relished by Louisville, Ky.-based JRA Architects. The brief called for innovative thinking and the opportunity to create the USA’s first LEED Platinum warehouse and distribution center. But that was just the start for this 50,000-square-foot project. It also needed to be a marketing showcase for Ecofibre’s visiting customers.

Ecofibre needed the facility to be up and running in just eleven months—half the normal project timescale. An additional complexity was achieving this goal whilst absorbing the 15-hour time difference between the Kentucky operation and Ecofibre’s head office in Brisbane, Australia. Marty Merkel, associate at JRA and LEED specialist explains, “It was key for project management to manage different client user groups with us throughout the day, given the large time difference. We had a very committed, enthusiastic client, determined to meet the highest standards of sustainability, which required flawless co-ordination at a fast pace.”

Three schemes were developed and presented by the JRA team. The solution arranged along a ‘connecting spine’ quickly emerged as the front runner and became the key organizing principle of the project. “At the very first meeting we presented three different sketch ideas,” says Merkel. “Ecofibre CEO Eric Wang took one look and said ‘That’s it, that makes perfect sense. The office pavilion to front, the spine and the warehouse at the rear.'"

This decisive move both allowed the project to proceed at pace, whilst developing a unique marketing tool for the client. A transparent gallery exhibits Ecofibre’s range of highly sustainable hemp products including medicinal, nutritional, and high-performance textiles. From the hemp garden to the product showcase, transparent manufacturing clean rooms and the spacious warehousing, the entire campus was shaped for customer tours.

The “spine” elevated the project design to another level─a distinctive, inspiring workplace that clearly instills a sense of pride and belonging in its occupants.

To meet Ecofibre’s core philosophy, adoption of a LEED Platinum solution was essential from the outset. JRA immediately mobilized its expert team in making key decisions. This included building orientation to maximize daylighting and minimize heat losses through careful envelope design. To achieve ambitious thermal values and energy savings, very early in the process the decision was made to use insulated metal panels. Key to the success of the project was the use of BIM from the outset to optimize information coordination, speed of design and construction, as well as energy modeling.