University Prep Academy

With high ranking test scores, a top curriculum and teachers dedicated to their students, University Prep Science and Math School is one of the Detroit area’s most promising public charter schools. When their building needed new construction work, architecture firm Gunn Levine Associates was hired to design something not only esthetic but also green. Architectural Building Products was chosen in part for their ability to provide building envelope solutions. In this case, they furnished the aluminum composite rain-screen panel system along with the Fabral metal wall panels. Fabral, specified for their quality, cost effectiveness and ability to meet the design intent, supplied 14,000 square feet of 20GA 7/8” Corrugated panels in a custom Kynar Seafoam Green. The Fabral panels were installed horizontally to match an existing texture on the adjacent Michigan Science Center. Some challenges included integrating the rain-screen metal wall panels, louvers, and glazing systems in the same plane as the metal wall panels. Through the support of the different teams involved, the project saw a successful finish that created an improved building for the students of Detroit.