Eagle Academy is the first early childhood public charter school in Washington D.C., and is home to more than 900 students. When designing the school, Eagle Academy was hoping for an intellectually stimulating and sustainable environment that resembled their previous building, but its location in the South East side of the city caused a security concern that needed to be addressed in its design.
Kingspan Light + Air provided 13,020 sq. ft. of UniQuad® panels to solve the problems and concerns academy faced at their 27,000 sq. ft. facility. The panels’ advanced Removable Skin Technology (RST) allows the exterior panel to be replaced as needed in the event of vandalism and provides indefinite building envelope protection
The Eagle Academy was designed to feature a seamless glazed look without any exposed aluminum connectors, and included bi-colored panels of blue and white to show the school colors. The outside panels were matte finished for added security and daytime privacy. The UniQuad system is one of the many energy-saving measures taken by Eagle Academy to achieve LEED Silver.
We picked a system that would give them the daylight they wanted without having to use windows. The UniQuad provides an interesting effect inside, durable material, and a great aesthetic. The school is in a zone that would be prone to some kind of vandalism. If they have a problem with it, panels can be removed one at a time. – Carlos Talero, Shinberg Levinas Architectural Design
“We’ve had some days with heavy winds and I’ve walked into the gym to see if I can feel anything, but the panels are air tight,” said John Johnson, Director of Security/Facilities at Eagle Academy. “We haven’t had any water issues at all – no leaks, nothing.”
The panels are scalable and can be configured with various features while maintaining its integrity, including: additional insulation, sound reduction, dynamic shading, additional structural performance, military forced entry resistance, and more.