July 2008
Single Skin Terracotta Rainscreen Makes Design Statement at UCLan
The single skin Terracotta Rainscreen system from T.I. Dynamic Facades has proven its flexibility yet again, by enabling specialist façade contractor, Topside Limited, to deliver a demanding specification at a new faculty building for the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
The focal point of the exterior envelope is a recessed window system, which required full integration with the single skin Terracotta Rainscreen. Topside realised the architect’s vision for this challenging design by utilising a range of return tiles, jambs and heads, which are all available as standard components in the Terracotta Rainscreen product range.
Stephen Prior, technical director, Topside Group Limited, comments: “The architect’s design concept indicated recessed windows to the north and south façade elements. The jamb and head reveals had to be formed from terracotta tiles along with a flat vertical section between each window. As these details can sometimes be challenging from an installation perspective, the use of the T.I. Dynamic Facade’s single skin Terracotta Rainscreen helped us achieve a high quality finish to both facades, as we were able to utilise a number of special components designed exactly for this purpose.”
Single skin Terracotta Rainscreen is the only system of its kind to be fully BBA (British Board of Agrement) certified, proving its overall performance up to a height of 100 metres. All tile sizes in the range are BBA approved, ranging from small (150mm x 800mm) to very large (300mm x 1,200mm) options. At UCLan, 400mm x 200mm modules were specified, covering a total area of 470m2.
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The complete single skin Terracotta Rainscreen portfolio provides access to over 30 diverse colours, in a choice of finishes. As the general profile of the UCLan campus is primarily terracotta, single skin Terracotta Rainscreen in brick red was specified for the full building envelope, to deliver a finish sympathetic to the surrounding environment. To complement this colour scheme, cream inset tiles were installed inside the window recess.
Requiring the system to interface with a number of structural elements, including an external staircase and glazing, Topside selected T.I. Dynamic Facade’s adaptive carrier rail as this easily interfaces with a wide range of exterior specifications. Moreover, the carrier has been designed to make it impossible for a tile to be installed incorrectly and allows individual module access for installation of service lines or replacement of broken tiles.
Weighing an average of 10kg less per square metre than traditional offerings, single skin Terracotta Rainscreen is one of the most lightweight systems of its kind. While this ensures health and safety legislative requirements, it also helps to significantly increase speed of installation as the tiles are easier to manage and cut on-site.
William Harwood, T.I. Dynamic Facades, concludes: “Rainscreen façades are primarily specified for the innovative designs that they enable the architect to create. However, we believe a system should also be practical to work with on-site – single skin Terracotta Rainscreen has consistently proven it meets all of these requirements.”