CENTRIA’s Formawall® insulated metal panels grace the façade of the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu, HI. The 260,000 square-foot Medical Center was designed to reflect symbolic elements of Hawaiian culture, and Formawall panels – in a range of colors – proved to be the ideal design solution.

“It was important that the design symbolized the concepts behind it,” explains Mike Goertzen, project architect. “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.”

The design team implemented Formawall Dimension Series® and Formawall Graphix horizontal panels in Crystal Zinc, Brown and Midnight Bronze. Both insulated metal panel systems provide advanced thermal efficiency and moisture control in a single component, and all Formawall products include a standard halogen-free foam core.

Formawall panels not only enabled the creation of specific aesthetic elements, but they were also ideal for the site conditions, which did not leave a great deal of room for maneuvering complex and heavy materials.

“A common challenge in Hawaii is working with limited space, as well as constrained site access,” says Goertzen. “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.”

Additionally, the facility had to remain open during renovations. Because of the product’s lightweight nature, the day-to-day operations were not disturbed, allowing patients and families to continue to use the Medical Center.

With the complete redevelopment, the neonatal intensive care unit was significantly expanded, adding 24 new beds, to bring the Center’s total to 70 beds. The pediatric intensive care unit was tripled in size to make room for 26 private, adaptable rooms. Because of the hospital’s needs, it was important that the project was completed in a timely fashion, something that the CENTRIA team were able to help achieve.

“CENTRIA provided our design and engineering team with the technical support needed to put this together, and the contractor was very familiar with the company and its products,” says Goertzen. “Without this support and knowledge from both CENTRIA and the contractor, we would not have been able to put this together within our tight timeline.”

The Kapi’olani Medical Center was completed in June 2016. The architect was HDR architecture, and the general contractor was Layton Construction. The CENTRIA dealer and installer was Steel Encounters, Inc.