Kingspan IMPs Fast-Track Construction for Thermally Efficient Industrial Facility

The Port of Seattle’s current mission is to create 100,000 new jobs through port-driven economic growth.

In line with this mission, the Port of Seattle Commission approved a long-term ground lease for part of Terminal 106 to Trammell Crow Company in 2021. This agreement enabled the demolition of the Port’s aging, vacant warehouse and the construction of a 700,000-square-foot, two-story industrial facility designed to support e-commerce, manufacturers, and logistics providers serving maritime industries.

When considering cost, ease of installation, thermal efficiency and aesthetics, NELSON selected Kingspan's Micro-Rib panels for the majority of the building's exterior.

Architect NELSON Worldwide was brought in to lead the design of the project. There were many elements to consider when choosing a building material for the large facility, including cost, ease of installation, thermal efficiency, and aesthetics. With all of these considerations in mind, NELSON selected insulated metal panels (IMPs) to enclose the second floor of the building.

According to Nadia Azarova, a senior architect leading the project, IMPs’ versatility to be installed in almost any weather condition and their light weight made them faster to install and easier on contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis and installer Flynn Group of Companies.

“To make it all tilt-up (concrete) would be more expensive structurally and more complicated for construction logistics,” Azarova said.

Rubble from the torn-down warehouse was reused for the site fill, and Kingspan’s KS Micro-Rib panels were used for the second floor.

Kingspan’s KS series panels feature the company’s QuadCore^® Technology. QuadCore’s site-specific, thickness-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) show that these panels have some of the lowest embodied carbon levels in North America, helping to meet the Port of Seattle’s environmental impact goals.

Furthermore, QuadCore is one of the most thermally efficient insulation cores on the market, with R-values of up to 8.0 per inch. According to Azarova, Seattle has stringent regulations on building thermal efficiency and air and weather tightness. Kingspan’s IMPs create a complete air and water barrier, and QuadCore insulation creates a strong barrier against heat transfer. This reduces heating and cooling costs for the facility and maintains a stable temperature inside for workers and products being shipped.

“With these panels, we had no problems passing the air barrier test for the large empty building, which can sometimes be a challenge,” Azarova continued.

Kingspan’s KS Micro-Rib profile creates an aesthetic look for buildings, with shadows created by the ribs. According to Azarova, concrete covering the entire facility would look heavy, but IMPs applied horizontally “broke up that big box.”

Roughly 126,000 square feet of Kingspan IMPs in the colors Ascot White, Driftwood, and Zinc Grey were used. These whites and grays blend in with the sky and help to hide dust on the building from the cement plant located to the North. According to Azarova, on the north side, the first floor of the building is largely hidden by a parking structure – you only see that second floor with the Kingspan panels.

“To me, it makes a lot of sense to use Kingspan panels,” Azarova finished. “They have a good quality when they come to the site.”