Expectations for the new, state-of-the-art Northampton Forensic Center in Nazareth, Pa., were high, and insulated metal panels (IMPs) from Metl-Span, Lewisville, Texas, helped the project be completed on time and on budget.
Insulated metal panels provide long-lasting and cost-effective solution
Architect Glenn Lichtenwalner, AIA, NCARB, at W2A Architects, Allentown, Pa., notes the county wanted something that would be long lasting and cost effective. “Their goals are our goals,” he says. “The insulated metal panels installed quickly, and they are aesthetically pleasing, as well as energy efficient. It was important to deliver the whole package and Metl-Span helped make that happen.”
The 27,847-square-foot facility contains a refrigerated cooler for bodies, two autopsy rooms with viewing areas to accommodate medical students and law officers as well as a private reception room for family members, a digital forensic lab, evidence lockers, a five-bay garage, and nine offices for staff.
The building’s front facade is brick, but the other three walls and the roof are IMPs. Lichtenwalner notes the 42-inch roofing panels led to a design where the seams line up with the 42-inch wall panels, creating clean, crisp lines.
The roof is made up of 26,700 square feet of Metl-Span’s 5-inch-thick, 24-gauge CFR-42 panels in Zinc Gray. The walls feature more than 12,900 square feet of Metl-Span’s CF42 Striated metal wall panels in Smoke Gray, Zinc Gray and Sandstone. Inside, all panels are 26-gauge in Igloo White. Additionally, the south-facing roof has photovoltaics from Energy Independent Solutions (EIS) Solar, Pittsburgh. IMPs were chosen so the building would closely resemble two other pre-engineered building on-site, a nursing home and the county’s 911 center, which hosts ambulances and fire engines.
Lichtenwalner says the building was enclosed quickly. “The walls and the roofing fit together in a machine-like fashion. The county is happy with the building; we’re happy with the building.”
Steve Chando, vice president at CHM Contracting LLC, Reading, Pa., says the project was a standard building, a typical job for the company. “It’s a great building, perfect for the county. The insulated metal panels are energy efficient, providing an R-30 with the roofing and an R-24 with the walls. It will serve the community for a long time.”