Six colours of translucent polycarbonate rainscreen cladding have enabled Jacobs Architecture to create a 'unique shop front' to a school in Aylesbury
More than one hundred PC 2540 double height 4mm Kristall wall panels have been specified by Jacobs Architecture in varying hues of blue and green for a new £3.2 million sports and music building at Mandeville School in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
The steel framed two-storey building comprises a new entrance foyer, four changing rooms, administration offices, as well as dance/fitness and music studios. The brief involved connecting two existing buildings with a height difference of 1.3m without the use of steps to accommodate wheelchair use throughout.
Jacobs masterplanned the 1.5 hectare site with constant input from faculty staff and the board of governors. The practice specified Rodeca panels, which it had never used before, as an alternative to glass. Used as both outer and inner faces, the panels are 200 times tougher and potentially half as light* as their glass counterparts.
Architect Anthony Corke said: 'The dance, fitness and staff areas all face the main entrance to the school. We wanted to provide these spaces with as much light as possible but still retain privacy. The Rodeca product allowed us to achieve both of these factors. The colour change also allowed us to create a unique shop front to the school.
'The Rodeca product is connected to a curtain wall system which maintains the full light requirement sought from the outset.'
Developments in the thermal performance of Rodeca panels mean they can now be manufactured with U values as low as 0.71-0.77 W/m²K as a single wall construction and 0.36-0.43 W/m²K as a double wall construction. As such, they can be used to allow natural daylight (with light transmission of up to 66 percent) into a building without compromising its thermal integrity and are capable of reducing energy losses by up to 80 percent.
The 200m2 of Rodeca panels at Mandeville secondary school, featuring graphic silhouettes of sports people, were installed over one month of an 18 month build programme by specialist subcontractor Roclad Systems for Kingerlee.
Oxford based main contractor Kingerlee said: 'The three phase project commenced with essential service diversions, the formation of a new entrance crossover and parking area to facilitate the scheme’s planning conditions.
'The main works included demolition of existing buildings and the construction of a new steel framed building with external envelope incorporating significant areas of glazing and curtain walling. The extensive external works package provide a new frontage and welcoming reception to the school.'
Rob Oliver at Roclad Systems said: 'The polycarbonate panels were fixed to Rodeca’s standard details and have performed very well.'
Rodeca's tongue and groove coupling of a polycarbonate panel are exemplar of modern and lean construction methods. Large scale building widths of up to 500mm enable facades of more than 200m long to be erected and panel heights of up to 25m to be mounted in one piece.
For more information and technical support visit: www.rodeca.co.uk
Contact:
01268 531466
sales@rodeca.co.uk
*(m2 of double-glazed 4mm glass + spacer bar + sealant at a total 22kg V a 60mm polycarbonate panel system of 8kg/m2).