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Facades
2014 ¥ 5 ∂
New colours and design choices for modular buildings The range of colours and design possibilities for Yorkon off-site solutions has recently been expanded. The latest building system has been engineered to remove the need for external columns, creating seamless, flush facades. The palette of colours for the steel envelope has also been expanded from 20 to 55, giving architects and designers creative freedom without having to specify secondary cladding. The modular buildings can be finished in a wider range of colours to complement or contrast with adjacent schemes – or multiple shades and colours can be specified for a single facade to create a lively, vibrant exterior. Other external finishes include render, brickwork, timber or rainscreen cladding, which can either be installed at the Portakabin production centre in York or on site according to project requirements. A new teaching facility constructed using a Yorkon off-site building solution from the Portakabin Group has opened at the Queen Katherine School in Kendal, Cumbria after just four weeks on site. The comprehensive secondary school for 11 –18 year olds was recently granted Teaching School status: this enables schools with the top Ofsted rating to work with other partners to deliver
high-quality support for teachers and leaders at all stages in their career. The Centre for Leadership and Learning now built at the school was required as a training venue and to provide an area to host regular educational meetings and conferences. The single-storey facility, above, features full-height glazing to the front and rear elevations, creating a distinctive and contemporary exterior, finished in red and grey to match the school’s colours. Its south elevation is linked to the school’s existing administrative block and it accommodates a large conference space for up to 100 people, reception area, office, committee room and toilets with disabled access. Commenting on the project, executive head teacher, Stephen Wilkinson, said, “We are absolutely thrilled with our new Centre for Leadership and Learning. Site-based construction simply was not an option for us because it could not have been completed in time and it would have impacted on the daily running of the school. “The glazing looks great and it has really helped to create an exceptional and unique exterior – you would never know that it was manufactured off site. The team delivering the Yorkon solution went the extra mile to ensure the finish matched our precise requirements, resulting in a facility that fits in perfectly with the rest of the campus.”
Maintenance-free The versatility of Rockpanel cladding is said to have made it the ideal choice for two eyecatching apartment buildings situated at the northern edge of the town of Leusden in the Netherlands. Designed by ONB Architects, the buildings were created to be sympathetic to the environment rather than isolated objects, whilst offering striking views of the landscape, which at one time had been a largely agricultural area. The durability and workability of the material were two reasons for its specification, and made it possible to provide the facade with gnarled panels, so giving a practical as well as an attractive appearance: their weatherresistant nature and high levels of moisture resistance meant it was not necessary to protect the board edges. Project architect Lars Zwart commented, “Using Rockpanel we were able to create warm, white and maintenance-free facades which are a stylised modern translation of the weather-boarded wooden facades of the old farmhouses characteristic of the region – precisely what we wanted.” The multicoloured blinds on the front elevation bear the colours of the coat of arms of the region, whilst the shape of the roof is designed to be reminiscent of the sheep folds that had once stood there.
The modules were delivered to site around 60 % complete, with plumbing, electrics and high-performance concrete floor already in place. The flexibility of using an off-site building solution means the school can add a second floor to the centre without decanting, to meet changing requirements.
“Almost every apartment is unique because the layouts of both towers are almost triangular. As a result, you can easily see all the way around the buildings at ground level and the view over the inspiring landscape is ever-present,” explained Lars Zwart. The material is claimed to be as workable as wood and as durable as stone, so it can be cut, bent, curved and shaped to facilitate unusual forms and shapes.
¥ Yorkon United Kingdom � +44 (0)845 200 012 www.yorkon.co.uk
¥ Rockpanel United Kingdom � +44 (0)1656 863210 www.rockpanel.com