This month’s applications kick off with a bit of monkey business at Edinburgh Zoo, followed by a science park, a sports hall, a school and a university campus
A. Because it keeps the chimps chirpy
When asked to design a comfortable home for Edinburgh Zoo’s chimpanzees, Cooper Cromar Architects decided to do the natural thing and take some of the jungle direct to the site in the form of timber rainscreen cladding made from sustainable tropical black sucupira.
Far from primitive, James & Taylor’s Senses Timber system combines short, tightly toleranced planks that can each expand and contract while still being securely held in position. The timber is also managed for sustainability by the Forest Stewardship Council to ensure the forest and woodland environment is protected and enhanced.
B. Because it takes the rough with the smooth
Rough meets smooth at the new Liverpool Science Park where Burlington’s honed natural stone cladding panels contrast with the random walling stone on the 4,500m2 office facility.
Burlington’s Kirkby blue/grey cladding panels are set within an expressed stainless steel frame, designed by architect Falconer Chester Hall to complement the building’s clean line architectural style and contrast with the random walling stone used at the building’s base. Each 1,000mm x 650mm panel, installed by CGK Systems of East Kilbride, sits within a specially adapted rainscreen grid that incorporates protruding stainless steel fins.
C. Because it comes in one piece
The latest addition to Dundee University’s Institute of Sport and Exercise is the ‘Drum’ – an elliptical extension that unusually houses rectangular studios and provides a front for the campus building.
When specifying the cladding, architect Ron McHoul of Nicoll Russell Studios chose Euroclad’s Linear facade system because it ‘met our requirements in terms of panel size and “one piece” panelling’, plus aesthetic and technical requirements.
The system comprises a series of cassette panels fixed to vertical support rails and is made of metal composite materials, including aluminium and copper, to increase flatness and rigidity. The system can be installed in wet and dry jointed variations.
D. Because cutting corners won't do
The sinuous curving form of the new £27m Failsworth School in Manchester is a radical departure from the regimented rectangles of its Victorian forerunner. One of the flagship buildings under the government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, the school incorporates a covered curving ‘street’, flanked by a two-storey block containing the school offices and classrooms and four other classroom blocks.
Corus Panels and Profiles’ Guardian composite panels using Colorcoat HPS200 pre-finished steel were used for both the walling and the complex roofing system where complex faceting meant the 120mm panels could follow the curved facade of the building footprint. For subcontractor Briggs Amasco, this helped overcome the biggest challenge of constructing the five rotundas topping staircases and lightwells throughout the complex.
E. Because it saves energy
Sustainability was high on the agenda during construction of Northumbria University’s £47m City Campus East buildings, which has achieved an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating.
Architect Atkins specified AA110 curtain walling from Kawneer for the main facades of the first two storeys of the two main buildings as well as for the walls of a lightwell that runs through the Law and Business School building.
‘The lightwell allows natural light to penetrate into the middle of this deep-plan building, reducing the need for artificial lighting and therefore saving energy,’ said Natalie Sarabia-Johnston, associate principal architect at Atkins.
Source
Construction Manager
No comments yet