Photo courtesy of Kingspan Insulated Panels

Supporting Burlington, Vermont’s need for high-density and mixed-income housing, The Nest @ 79 Pine is a 9-story, 49-unit building featuring sustainable design strategies and a sleek metal, brick, and glass high-performance façade.

In response to the developer’s request for “an iconic building that will be a downtown landmark, constructed utilizing green building practices,” gbA Architecture recommended Insulated Metal Panels.

“Insulated metal panels (IMPs) were the best choice, both on a financial level and more importantly, on a sustainability level. They offer superior insulation properties and a longer lifespan, contributing to the building’s overall environmental responsibility,” explains Karim Muri, vice president of marketing services and strategy development, Kingspan.

In addition to delivering an air- and water-tight building envelope, the Kingspan Optimo IMP system is powered by QuadCore, a self-blended hybrid insulation core, which provides a high level of thermal performance, reduced HVAC costs and enhanced resident comfort.

Photo courtesy of Kingspan Insulated Panels

With a highly efficient R-value of R-8.0 per inch, QuadCore is one of the most thermally efficient insulation cores on the market. The closed-cell design also provides a high level of fire protection.

The architects specified Optimo panels in Tricorn Black, KS Mini Micro-Rib panels in Pewter and KS Azteco panels in Weathered Zinc.  The KS Series panels are customized with trimless ends and pre-formed corners to provide a clean, finished appearance.

All together, 19,000 square feet of GREENGUARD Gold Certified IMP panel lend an attractive, modern aesthetic to the façade.

For this project, the panels were designed both horizontally and vertically. The style and colors of the façade blend well with the surrounding downtown district and environs.

Other sustainable design features include an on-site EV charging stations, a solar array and a green roof.

Most of the apartments are located in the corners of the building and offer mountain views to the East and Lake views to the West through 9-foot windows bringing in natural light. The building also house a fitness room, smart meeting room, common and private outdoor roof top terraces with a pizza oven, grills and rooftop indoor social space.

The project earned American Institute of Architects Vermont 2024 Excellence in Architecture Design Award and a Peers’ Choice Award.