Kalwall’s structural sandwich panel is built to take impact and keep taking it. That matters most where the people inside the building are the source of that impact, and where the performance has to last for years, not just on the day it is installed. Some translucent materials look strong on paper and do not stay that way. Polycarbonate is the clearest example: it can pass impact testing when new, then lose that resistance as ultraviolet exposure breaks the material down over time. Kalwall is engineered so its impact performance holds for the life of the building.
In interior spaces, impact resistance is about activity, not weather. Gymnasiums, field houses, and recreation facilities put walls directly in the path of thrown, kicked, and batted balls, hockey pucks, and the occasional body. The panels have to absorb that contact, repeatedly, and keep performing while still transmitting light.
The common assumption about impact-rated materials is that they are heavy, bulky, and visually compromised. Kalwall’s high-impact configurations build on the same panel architecture specifiers already know, with only minimal changes. The system still delivers diffused, glare-free daylight, and the full range of finishes and long spans stays available.
High-impact options are specified where occupant activity, not the weather outside, puts the wall under repeated contact. The requirement comes from how the space is used: walls take direct hits as part of normal operation, day after day, and the daylighting has to survive right alongside the structure. Common settings include gymnasiums and field houses, multi-use recreation centers, ice rinks and indoor sports facilities, and school athletic and activity spaces.
Facility type and use drive impact requirements in gymnasiums, field houses, and multi-use athletic spaces, where walls meet thrown, kicked, and batted balls as a matter of course.
Rec centers and indoor rinks add their own demands, from pucks and sticks to constant daily wear. The panels are built for the contact that comes with active use.
Impact resistance that holds over the life of the building. Unlike polycarbonate, Kalwall does not surrender its impact performance to UV exposure over time.
The panels keep transmitting diffused, glare-free light whatever the space throws at them. Performance and daylighting, not one at the cost of the other.
Impact testing tells you how a material performs the day it is installed. It does not always tell you how it performs years later. Polycarbonate can meet impact standards when new, then lose that resistance as ultraviolet exposure degrades the material over time. A panel that passed on day one can fall short well before the building’s service life is over.
Kalwall is built differently. Its impact resistance is a function of the structural composite construction itself, engineered to hold up through years of contact and exposure. That means performance you can specify with confidence it will still be there a decade later. High-impact configurations also stay close to standard Kalwall, so specifiers work with a system they already understand, with the full range of finishes and the same long spans available.
Working on a project in a specialty application? Connect with your local Kalwall representative to discuss project requirements, verify configurations, and confirm the right path to specification. Reps respond within 24 hours of receiving a request.
