Refurb Projects July 2018

COATINGS & CLADDING
A refurb fit for Royalty
Simon Gregory, Sales Manager at Proteus Facades,
looks at how modern rainscreen cladding materials
are helping architects to repurpose older buildings
without effecting their historical identity.
Anumber of major towns and
cities across the UK house a
multitude of buildings that
possess important historical
interest, and represent the best of
our architectural and industrial
heritage; with many people residing
in these areas identifying the
buildings as significant landmarks
that provide a link to their local
history.
However, in order to appeal to a
new generation of residents, owners
or occupiers and meet with current
building performance and safety
requirements, many of the country’s
historical structures are in need of
an upgrade. As such, in order to
ensure the buildings retain some of
their identity, specifiers are
presented with the challenge of
maintaining a link to their original
design and purpose.
An increasing number of
architects are therefore choosing to
integrate cladding into their designs.
This enables the use of traditional
materials such as copper, which has
been featured on buildings for
centuries, yet still has the ability to
create a contemporary aesthetic.
MODERN MATERIALS,
TRADITIONAL DESIGN
Bennetts Associates’ Storyhouse in
Chester, which was recently officially
opened by Her Majesty and the
Duchess of Sussex, is a great
example of this. A building once
frozen in time, the Storyhouse has
been brought back to life and stands
proud against 21st century
structures, by the addition of a
striking copper clad façade. Cheshire
West and Chester council had a bold
plan to deliver a £37m vision for
transforming the Grade II-listed
Odeon building, which had been
closed for many years, into an
exciting new communal space.
Featuring our Proteus HR
rainscreen copper cladding, which
was installed by Curtis Moore
(Cladding Systems) Ltd., the project
was an inspired rework and
reinvigoration of the 1930s cinema.
Whilst the building has undergone
dramatic redevelopment, it has still
retained its historical character and
aesthetics.
The success of the award
winning design stems from the way
that the TECU Classic copper clad
extension containing the theatre
spaces was added to the shell of the
Grade II building. The ribbed,
abstracted rainscreen clad ‘fins’
create a new façade that still pays
homage to the original building.
However, whilst the proportions of
the extension relate directly to the
listed structure below, the copper
and glass helps to create an
aesthetic that provides contrast and
identity to the new build elements.
SUMMARY
While trying to retain a building’s
historical past can result in a
number of design constraints, it
does not necessarily mean that it
shouldn’t move with time. Making
well-informed design decisions
about architecturally significant
buildings that are in need of an
upgrade, like those taken at Chester,
can be the difference between
retaining and losing its true identity.
Choice of materials is critical to
this and copper remains one of the
most versatile, attractive and
adaptable architectural materials
available. It has been used for
centuries for roofing, cladding and
rainwater systems and remains as
sought after today as it always has
been.”
For more inspirational rainscreen
facades from Proteus Facades, visit:
www.proteusfacades.com or call:
0151 545 5075
10 JULY 2018, REFURBISHMENT PROJECTS