Sto goes back to school on a major project

The tremendous design possibilities offered by the StoVentec Glass rainscreen cladding system have been highlighted by a recently completed project at a leading Midlands school.

The Sto system was specified for the Wolverhampton Girl’s High School due to the strong visual appeal which matched the architect’s vision for the project.

“The design of the school’s new sixth-form building was extremely important given its location and context, and this played a major role in driving the specification of the most appropriate materials,” explains Joe Harris of Seymour Harris Architects.

“In contrast to previous pastiche additions to the school, we wanted to use modern materials which would complement the original architecture of the school. The new building is harmonized with its surroundings through the colour and pattern of the high-level cladding and by physically reflecting the attractive landscaping of the site, and the school’s original buildings which date back to 1911.”

The original idea of cladding the building with a reflective metallic finish was changed, as the school environment could easily lead to the metal being scratched and dented.

“We chose the StoVentec Glass system instead,” adds Joe. “It’s tough and scratch-resistant, but it still provided the high degree of reflectivity that we were looking for. Sto worked closely with us, providing many samples and helping us to arrive at the final choice. The StoVentec Glass proved to be an excellent way of translating our design into reality.”

The BBA-accredited StoVentec Glass system incorporates an adjustable sub-construction, which is designed bespoke for each project. This can easily be adjusted to suit any uneven substrate and creates a ventilated cavity which keeps the wall dry and allows it to breathe.

Tempered safety glass panels are bonded to unique StoVentec carrier boards in the factory, and then fixed to the sub-construction at the project site. The glass panels are manufactured in bespoke shapes and sizes to suit individual requirements. As well as being available in any RAL or custom colour, with reflective, non-reflective or metallic finish, they can also be screen printed with individual logos or designs. The project included perforated Adapta cladding that was supported on a structural frame penetrating the StoVentec Glass. This necessitated close and careful co-ordination between the architect, Craft Interior and Sto to ensure that the cut-outs in the glass mirrored exactly the location of the steel beams.

The manufacturing process includes the fusing of colours on to the back of the glass, before the toughening process. The colour melts into the glass providing permanent coloured glass panels that will not wear, scratch, fade, or incur water damage.

"We have installed the StoVentec Glass system previously on several projects, but this one was without doubt the trickiest in terms of design and co-ordination. The positioning of the Agraffe fixing rails to the rear of the Glass Panels ensures that the final install is a relatively quick and easy process," adds Graham Chadwick of authorized Sto applicator Craft Interior.

"The result on this project is a stunning piece of architecture that all parties should be proud to have been involved with, and that is extremely important on a high-profile project such as this."