November 2018

Project Focus
PICKING A WINNER: THE RIGHT
CHOICE FOR RACECOURSE HOTEL
Total Contractor hears why Shackerley’s SureClad System was the perfect choice for the new
hotel at Doncaster Racecourse.
One of the oldest horse racing venues in the UK, Doncaster Racecourse hosts 36 race fixtures
each year, is home to the William Hill St Leger Festival and provides a venue for all kinds of
events and occasions, from concerts to conferences.
The Racecourse’s packed year-round calendar means that high quality accommodation, corporate
hospitality and events space close to the racecourse are always in high demand, making it an ideal
location for development of the new Hilton Garden Inn.
Designed by KKA Architecture, the eight-storey project features Shackerley’s SureClad ceramic granite
ventilated façade system across all eight storeys; so what were the benefits of specifying the SureClad
system and what buildability benefits did it offer the contractor?
Below we hear 5 key points from this interesting project:
Shackerley’s SureClad system was used at the new hotel on
Doncaster Racecourse.
1. Specification of the Shackerley ventilated
façade system took advantage of the variety
available within the SureClad ceramic granite
range, combining a natural cream finish with a
distinctive grain with a highly-polished black
ceramic granite that complements the curtainwalled
elevation facing the racecourse and
provides dramatic, elegant contrast.
2. The system has been used to deliver a
contemporary, minimalist aesthetic, while
providing materiality that creates an impression
of natural stone, answering planning authority
requirements by referencing local built
environment context. As Alex Geddes from KKA
Architecture commented: “The Shackerley ‘Lopar’
range of ceramic granite with its natural cream
finish and subtle graining provides a fantastic
alternative to natural stone, offering us the design
flexibility to create strikingly different facades for
the front, rear and side elevations.”
3. In addition to achieving the project’s aesthetic
goals and creating the required impression of
quality, the relatively lightweight SureClad
ceramic granite system also provided an ideal
response to the loading requirements for the
building. The Racecourse elevation features a
dark façade of curtain walling framed by cream
ceramic granite and side elevations feature a long
column clad in the cream-coloured SureClad
ceramic granite to create the frame for the
Racecourse elevation, giving the building a
delicate appearance.
4. Halcyon, the cladding contractor, has its own
design team so the company produced detailed
installation plans and shared these with
Shackerley who produced panels to the
programme provided. Because the Queen’s Award
Winning SureClad Access installation system
enables non-sequential installation, the
installation team was able to work around other
activity on site, ensuring maximum flexibility and
ease of buildability.
5. An exceptionally hard and durable material
with excellent freeze-thaw resistance,
Shackerley’s ceramic granite is impermeable,
helping to ensure it does not degrade over time.
Resistant to abrasion, algae, graffiti and UV light,
ceramic granite is non-combustible to Class A1 in
accordance with BS EN 13501-1.
Contact Shackerley
01257 273114
www.shackerley.com
76 TC NOVEMBER 2018