Refurb Projects August 2020

CLADDING
Complementary Copper Regeneration
‘we sought a more friendly and economic material to speak of the industrial heritage of the site, yet in a
warmer and more refined way – a material with some life, that would patinate subtly over time’
Amajor new residential
building in Bristol is defined
by its 170m long façade,
clad in Nordic Brown Light
pre-oxidised copper – adding a
warm, naturally developing
character and complementing its
1970s Grade II listed neighbour.
Designed by Ferguson Mann
Architects (FMA), the Copper
Building is the second phase of
Bristol’s Lakeshore residential
development for Urban Splash, set in
10 acres of established landscape
surrounding a lake. It follows FMA’s
redevelopment of the iconic Grade II
listed former headquarters of
Imperial Tobacco, designed during
the 1970s in the International Style
by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
(SOM).
The new Copper Building
replaces the SOM-designed factory,
demolished in the 1990s, and
provides 136 apartments for rent or
for sale, including purchase through
Shared Ownership. Project architect
Nick Brown explained FMA’s design
strategy: ‘The factory building that
occupied the northern edge of the
site was particularly significant, not
just for the local area but Bristol as
a whole. Without it, the northern
edge of the site felt incomplete and
it was an obvious decision to create
a new building, enclosing the
parkland and addressing the street
and retail park to the north.
LISTED BUILDING REFERENCE
‘The form and language of the
Copper Building were always
intended as a reference to its Corten
steel clad predecessor. Although
our initial design included Cor-ten
steel cladding, as it developed, we
sought a more friendly and
economic material to speak of the
industrial heritage of the site, yet in
a warmer and more refined way – a
material with some life, that would
patinate subtly over time. The warm
colour of the Nordic Brown Light
pre-oxidised copper, along with the
longevity, sustainability and natural
credentials of copper made it the
perfect choice.
‘The rigorous 3.6m wide
structural grid that defined all
elements of the SOM-designed,
Mies-inspired Phase 1 building was a
key driver in the design of the
Copper Building. The lake frontage is
an open grid of timber-clad
balconies with generous glazing.
However, the street and end facades
4 AUGUST 2020, REFURBISHMENT PROJECTS