Laurel Branch Library, Laurel, Md.

by Christopher Brinckerhoff | 3 June 2019 12:00 am

In its design for a new building for Laurel Branch Library, Grimm and Parker Architects used insulated metal panels (IMPs) for four applications: two exterior canopies, framed windows at the lower level, entrances and a screenwall at the back of the library. The framed windows have seating inside the library, and they are called reading pods. Custom details allowed the reading pods and entrances to be built without exposed fasteners or exterior trims.

For the canopies, reading pods and entrances, Summit Construction Inc. installed 11,735 square feet of Kingspan Insulated Panels Inc.’s 2-inch-thick BENCHMARK Designwall 2000 IMPs in Champagne Gold. For the screenwall on the backside of the building, Summit Construction installed 1,818 square feet of Kingspan’s 2 1/2-inch-thick BENCHMARK Designwall 2000R ribbed IMPs in Champagne Gold. The IMPs were produced with end-caps, trim-less ends, beveled ends, full-wrap ends, tapered edges, modified edges and longitudinal bends.

To frame the reading pods and entrances without exposed fasteners or exterior trims, they were produced with modified edge details that included full-wrap panel edges with concealed 20-gauge mounting angles. The edges of the IMPs that are typically configured for tongue-in-groove interlocks were produced with squared-off conditions so they wrapped around the foam insulation and back to the liner side of the panels.

Attachment angles were riveted integral to the metal panels, so fastening flanges were hidden behind the next panels. Each adjacent panel has a different, partially wrapped edge with a small flange to connect to the previous panel. This detailing created trim-less corners that Summit Construction stitched together with small #10 screws. Color-coordinated silicone sealant fills the fastening cavities. The 31,000-square-foot library project was recognized with a 2018 AIA/ALA Library Building Award.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/projects/laurel-branch-library-laurel-md/

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