When Danvers High School in Danvers, MA, embarked on a $70.9 million renovation and expansion project, staying within the budget and on-schedule were at the top of its priority list. The project scope included building a new three-story academic wing, entranceway, cafeteria and library with significant renovations to the field house and auditorium.

The first floor of the three-story academic building was clad with insulated precast concrete panels to provide a new ‘skin’ for the structure. Although, expanding the precast panel to the upper two stories was too expensive so architects looked to metal paneling to provide the look and feel they desired.

“The metal panels were used to carry the color and feel of the precast concrete to the second and third floors of the existing building, where (installing) precast concrete would have been more expensive,” explained James Shuttleworth, AIA, project architect and CAD manager at Dinisco Design Partnership of Boston.

The upper two stories were clad with insulated metal panels by Melt-Span^® in a variety of profiles and adorned with Valspar’s Fluropon coating in Sandy Hook Grey and Igloo White. Valspar coatings were chosen based on their ability to perfectly match the color of the precast concrete panels as well as offer a solution that was easy on the budget. In addition, the coatings provide outstanding resistant to dirt, stains and fading.  

Valspar’s Fluropon, a 70 percent PVDF architectural coating, guarantees both durability and aesthetics to the Metl-Span panel system. Not only did the Sandy Hook Grey Fluropon coating extend the visual line of the first floor precast concrete elements, but the Igloo White added a nice accent to the architectural trim and building as a whole.

Project Overview

Project:                        Danvers High School; Danvers, MA

                                    http://danverspublicschools.org/dhs/

General contractor:      Bacon Construction; Rumford, RI
http://www.baconconstruction.com/

Architects:                    DiNisco Design Partnership; Boston, MA

                                    http://dinisco.com/

Metal panel

manufacturer:               Metl-Span; Lewisville, TX

http://www.metlspan.com/

Panels installer:           Bass Associates; Lynn, MA

                                    http://altechpanel.com/

Coatings provider:       The Valspar Corporation; Minneapolis, MN                                              http://www.valsparcoilextrusion.com/