January 2008
Single Skin Terracotta Rainscreen delivers flexible façade for Usworth College
Specialist façade contractor, Topside Limited, has benefited from the flexibility of T.I. Dynamic Façade’s single skin Terracotta Rainscreen, after an innovative specification required it to interface with five other systems at Usworth College, Sunderland.
The architectural design for the college’s exterior envelope specified a complex mix of curtain walling, façade panels, specialist doors, curtain wall and integrated windows. The Single skin Terracotta Rainscreen interfaced with each of these in several areas of the outer façade, covering a total area of 700m2.
Designed to accommodate flexibility in design as well as installation, the single skin Terracotta Rainscreen was easily able to interface with all of the other exterior specifications, facilitated by the use of T.I. Dynamic Façade’s adaptive carrier rail. This vertical façade system makes it impossible for a tile to be installed incorrectly and allows individual module access for installation of service lines or replacement of broken tiles.
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Stephen Prior, technical director, Topside Limited, comments: “This was a full envelope solution, where the challenge was to interface a range of systems, yet maintain thermal requirements, air tightness and guarantee the integrity of the building from weather. Single skin Terracotta Rainscreen lends itself well to projects of this nature as it integrates effectively with several subframe types. Moreover, the tiles and the carrier system were very easy to work with on-site.”
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. Thinner and lighter weight than twin skin alternatives, single skin Terracotta Rainscreen is easier to manage and cut on-site. This was beneficial for Topside as approximately 3,000 tiles had to be cut within a tight site programme.
At Usworth College, tiles from the Terracotta Rainscreen Classic range were used, in 500mm x 250mm sizes and in a white glazed finish. The complete single skin Terracotta Rainscreen portfolio, which also includes the Color range, provides access to over 50 diverse colours, in a choice of finishes.
William Harwood, T.I. Dynamic Facades, concludes: “Single skin Terracotta Rainscreen is proving increasingly popular because it delivers performance equal to that of a traditional twin skin but is easier to manage on-site. This makes it a cost effective choice that does not come at the expense of aesthetics, because it easily accommodates even the most unusual building designs.”