Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2019, St. George’s Weybridge – a
Roman Catholic private day school in Surrey – marked the occasion with the
introduction of an exciting new architectural development.
Transforming its existing, functionally simple sports hall into an inspiring,
beautifully designed facility, the College’s accommodation brief comprised a
premiership level hockey pitch and six-court sports hall, as well as a strength
and conditioning suite, dance studio and flexible multi-use areas for group
activities, meetings, presentations, exhibitions, open days and ‘match teas’.
Designed by global architectural practice Scott Brownrigg, the architect’s
vision was to create a contemporary and timeless building that would inspire
students to achieve their very best.
With plans including a stunning tree canopy-like roof structure draping over
the internal spaces, the roof needed to achieve 30m clear spans across the
main hall and the design needed to be clever and sensitive to the fact that
the site’s location sits within the green belt. It also required a flexible and
durable waterproofing solution to ensure the building leaves a lasting legacy
for future generations of Georgians.
Scott Brownrigg designed a bespoke freeform glulam roof that curves in
multiple directions. Computer modelling software allowed the architect
to create and control this complex roof form in virtual reality, pushing and
pulling it to blend into the landscape.
In need of a roofing product elegant and pliable enough to accommodate the
complex design, lightweight enough to minimise the impact on the roof’s
structure and cost effective enough to cover such a large area, Sarnafil
G410-ELF lead grey single ply membrane was specified, along with Sarnavap
5000, 120m SarnaTherm G insultation board and Sika SolarMount-1. Sarnafil
adhered décor profiles were built, allowing rainfall to be interrupted and
guided across the roof, while Sarnavap HD SA was used on the high-pitched
areas in order to provide more slip resistance than the foil-faced SA, offering
substantial health and safety benefits.
Malone Roofing, the roofing contractor tasked with realising the architect’s
vison for the roof, is a longstanding and experienced Sarnafil installer, while
Scott Brownrigg is a regular specifier of Sarnafil. As such, the entire team was
confident that Sarnafil single ply was the right fit for this unique roof form.
Sarnafil worked closely with the architects and contractors to develop a
specification that not only had the correct U-values, but was also compatible
with the Cross Laminated Timber roof build up and ancillary roof mounted
systems used, such as Photovoltaics, Latchways, a built-in gutter and
upstands for roof openings.
Despite working through challenging weather, with Malone enduring a
particularly rainy period, and a challenging design, with curves sloping up to
30 degrees in some areas, the project was delivered on time and to budget.
Exceptional design, impeccable installation and Sika Sarnafil’s robust
guarantees all combine to ensure this timeless design will be protected and
enjoyed for years to come.
