For a renovation project of Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children, HDR Inc. specified metal wall panels in certain colors to represent elements of Hawaiian culture. Mike Goertzen, project architect at HDR, says, “It was important that the design symbolized the concepts behind it. To communicate key aesthetic elements, we selected CENTRIA panels in specific colors. For example, the charcoal CENTRIA panels on the elevator tower represent the native basalt stone on the islands, and the grey panels on the C-shape across the façade were selected to symbolize an open seashell.”
Steel Encounters Inc. installed CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series and Formawall Graphix insulated metal panels (IMPs) in Brown, Crystal Zinc and Midnight Bronze.
The project was a complete redevelopment of the 260,000-square-foot facility that expanded the neonatal intensive care unit with 24 new beds, bringing the center’s total beds to 70. The pediatric intensive care unit was expanded to house 26 private, adaptable rooms.
Importantly, the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children remained open during renovations. “A common challenge in Hawaii is working with limited space, as well as constrained site access,” Goertzen says. “Looking at the limitations, CENTRIA panels were an asset: the panel system is light and could easily be lifted up and over the site access points. The delivery and handling turned out to be very efficient. The panels were staged on the roof and then assembled on the building’s façade.”
