Case Studies

Case Study: Elland Medicare, West Yorkshire

LINEAR façade systems from Euroclad have dramatically transformed an office and manufacturing premises in Elland, West Yorkshire for new occupier Medicare. Formerly a manufacturing facility in need of renovation, a LINEAR façade has converted a weary building into a striking contemporary office property.
Designed by architects Martin Walsh Associates, the renovation utilised a LINEAR rainscreen façade for the vertical elevations of the building. This approach to the renovation of the exterior of a tired building affords a transformation which is both time efficient and cost effective. In addition, it increases thermal and acoustic performance as well as energy efficiency.

The renovation included the installation of a Euroclad trapezoidal roof system, manufactured in Corus Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® pre-finished steel. The system is simple to install, using the same components as Euroclad's Elite System 1, with a 32/1000 forward profile fixed over the Eurobar spacer system, on a 19/1000 liner. Elite Systems offer simple but robust detailing and design freedom in a recyclable construction.

Elland Medicare, West Yorkshire - Info

Architect Martin Walsh Associates | View Pictures of this project

Case Study: Intek House

The aesthetic, mechanical and economic advantages of rainscreen cladding systems are being increasingly appreciated in the UK not only for prestigious new developments but also for refurbishment and renovation. An outstanding example of the latter has just been completed in Hove on the South Coast of England, where Euroclad Facades' Alpolic®/fr aluminium composite material and Euroseam standing seam roofing system have helped to transform a 30 year old industrial-style building into a stylish new office block.

Intek House in Ellen Street is a development by Sussex-based Matsim Properties, who were looking not only to improve the appearance of the building but also to add an extra floor. Situated close to the sea, the building is subjected to an aggressive climate, which made the company reluctant to specify a conventional steel cladding panel system. They decided to opt for aluminium instead. Alpolic®/fr comprises 0.5 mm thick aluminium skins laminated to a noncombustible mineral core and is up to 15% lighter than solid aluminium sheeting with equivalent rigidity. This lightness facilitates fixing and was an important consideration in the material's specification for this application. So, too, was the flexibility of the Linear 3 fixing system that was selected for the installation.

A feature has been made of the building's main column lines with the rainscreen cladding panels running vertically to their full height. Panels were then fitted horizontally to the infills in short lengths to offer a textural, orthogonal contrast while keeping to one colour - champagne silver metallic. In order to achieve this effect, Industrial Construction Sussex, Euroclad's approved specialist cladding contractor, provided a fixing grid in the form of brackets mechanically fastened into the edge of the structural concrete floor slabs by means of stainless steel anchors.

Aluminium box sections were secured to the brackets at 2900 - 3000 mm centres to span the full height of the building on all four elevations, great care being taken to ensure this main frame was precisely aligned. The secondary rails were then fitted together with Rockwool Rainscreen Duoclad batts retained by specially-designed 'umbrella' anchors. Finally, the Alpolic®/fr panels were installed, the 95 mm thick Rockwool insulation leaving a gap of approximately 35 mm behind the panels. This continuous air gap enables ventilation over the full height of the four storey building, whilst an aluminium mesh fitted at ground level prevents insects gaining access behind the façade.
In all, some 1,000 m² of Alpolic®/fr cladding was installed achieving a Uvalue of 0.35 W/m²K.

The refurbishment was completed by a new 850 m² Euroseam curved standing seam roof (achieving the optimum target U-value of 0.2 W/m²K) and blue polyester powder coated aluminium window frames. Euroclad also supplied window jambs, heads and sill sections to complete the window openings. Industrial Construction Sussex, said: "We have vast experience with the Linear 3 system supported by Euroclad Façade's excellent technical assistance. Precise alignment of the main frame made installing the panels very easy despite the complications. The contract has really gone very well."

Intek House, Brighton - Info

Developer Matsim Properties | Installer Industrial Construction Sussex | View pictures of this project

Case Study: Mosside Leisure Centre

A sports centre in one of Manchester's most deprived districts has been given a radical facelift using Euroclad's high performance rainscreen cladding system, the design flexibility of which helped overcome a number of technical challenges.

Specified for Moss Side Leisure Centre by project architects, Pozzoni Design Group, Euroclad's rainscreen system is made in Aluminium Composite Material that combines lightweight characteristics (15% lighter than solid aluminium sheet with equivalent rigidity) with strength and excellent panel flatness.
Making a bold visual statement, the rainscreen system in Canary Yellow is used to enclose the structure's steel frame in the form of a 10m high curved on plan façade fronted by a 3.5m high 'goal post' feature straddling the new main entrance foyer.

Chris Cook, co-director of Cheshire-based Churchmore Ltd, who siteassembled and installed the 20/20 rainscreen system commented: "The curved on plan elevation made this project all the more complex but, thankfully, the Euroclad system is built up on a series of screwed brackets that accept either an angle or T- piece which facilitated three dimensional adjustability."

Mosside Leisure Centre - Info

Architect Pozzoni Design Group | View pictures of this project