From cutting edge airport terminals to classrooms that look like offices, cm looks at some original roofing solutions for five different applications
a. Because there’s no gutter clutter
How do you fit a drainage system to a building that blends roof and walls into one? That was the challenge facing Fullflow when specifying a drainage system for the spectacular new terminal building at Farnborough airport. Fullflow was chosen to complete the design, manufacture and installation of a syphonic drainage system for the building’s distinctive wing-shaped design and aluminium shingle clad exterior. It requires fewer downpipes of smaller diameter than traditional systems and, with the ability to route pipework horizontally, it has meant less visual clutter, less materials used and has minimised underground work.
b. Because it’s tried and tested
When looking for a waterproofing solution for RBS’s Edinburgh HQ, construction manager MACE found a solution it knew it could bank on. It specified 25,000m2 of Alumasc’s Hydrotech Structural Waterproofing having seen it work well at another MACE project – the Glaxo SmithKline Beecham HQ in Brentford, west London. Lightweight and tough, Hydrotech is a self-healing monolithic membrane that can be bonded to a range of substrates with no risk of water tracking below the membrane and no risk of lap failure. Alumasc’s ZinCo Green Roof was also specified for the restaurant at the RBS HQ.
c. Because it covers everything
When the Carl Fisher Partnership was designing Ryden School in Surrey it thought it should have more of an office feel than a traditional classroom atmosphere. An attempt to prepare pupils for the workplace? We can only guess. The choice of roof tile however, offers no room for speculation. Catnic Litetile was specified because of four key factors: Speed of installation, maintenance, flexibility and aesthetics. The size of each Litetile suited the building’s large-span cassette system construction, and meant fewer tiles to install and because of their light weight, they were easy to install. And on this scheme, uniquely, Litetile has been used on a canopy soffit, which showcases its flexibility, say the designers.
d. Because three dimensions are better than two
This application, the visitor’s centre for the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland, left the builder feeling somewhat flat. The centre is a 3D design which features many complex irregular curves. Trouble is, when Rohcon was hired to do the job, 2D drawings were all it had to work with. Enter polystyrene product specialist Cordek, which provided an alternative 3D solution. It first broke down the reinforced concrete structure’s more complex portions into a series of “building blocks” that were then accurately machined out of expanded polystyrene, to the required profile using five-axis CADCAM technology. The formwork was supplied and positioned on site, using referenced layout drawings, in a three-dimensional “jigsaw” format. Problem solved.
e. Because it’s pollution resistant
Jet planes and their gas-guzzling engines are guilty of contributing to global warming – but the kerosene pollution harms the built environment too, with buildings near airports particularly at risk. Alwitra’s Evalon V membrane offers a solution, unfortunately not to global warming but rather in making a roof resistant to airborne pollution. Some 1,000m2 of the product has been installed on new apartment blocks in Crawley, near Gatwick Airport. It’s been used in conjunction with a lead roll profile to produce a standing seam design. It looks like Altwira has struck lucky: developer Turner Hill is now insisting its membranes be used on future contracts.
Source
Construction Manager
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