The excitement and intrigue of space exploration is alive and well at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Fla. Its new 50,000-square-foot visitor center, Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex, opened in June 2022. The LEED Silver-certified center offers guests the opportunity to experience the interstellar travel of tomorrow while also celebrating everything that is happening currently within the space program. Through immersive education, atmospheric effects and a two-story motion theater experience, guests can see, hear and feel what it is like to travel in space. There is also a showcase of priceless NASA and commercial space hardware and displays visitors get to explore.
Metal wall panels at new Kennedy Space Center visitor center evoke space and sky
With its location in coastal Florida, the project required exterior walls that could withstand constant exposure to the ocean air, while enduring hurricane-strength winds. Architects at BRPH, Melbourne, Fla., specified more than 85,000 square feet of Moon Township, Pa.-based CENTRIA panels for the building envelope.
Close to half of the exterior features CENTRIA’s Intercept Entrye panels in Silversmith and a custom Kolorshift chameleon color that transitions from a deep purple to a light green as visitors walk around the building’s curves. The chosen color scheme evokes images of space travel and the night sky. The Intercept Entyre panels are installed over CENTRIA’s Metalwrap insulated composite backup panel system.
The remainder of the building envelope is made up of CENTRIA’s Versawall 2 3/4-inch panels in Gray Velvet. To provide high performance and aesthetics without the custom coloring, the Versawall panels are installed on areas of the complex that were not as public facing.
Tim Johnson, district sales manager, CENTRIA, says, “Space exploration captures the imagination and drives people to ask what is beyond the stars in the sky. At CENTRIA, we were proud to have supplied cutting-edge building envelope solutions to construct this new complex at Kennedy Space Center. It is certain to become a preferred destination for children of all ages, and our metal wall panels are on prominent display as they walk into the building.”