A set of new,
luxurious student accommodation blocks featuring 6,500m2 of EQUITONE [tectiva]
fibre cement facade material have been created, with the results offering a
striking aesthetic design.
The Courtyard provides
purpose-built housing for 600 students at the University of Hull’s Cottingham
Road campus.
The £30 million
facility combines en-suite rooms along with rooftop apartments and separate
lounges, games rooms and a cinema.
EQUITONE
[tectiva], a through-coloured fibre cement facade material, was specified for
its aesthetically pleasing, natural and modern appearance.
Chosen in a variety of
colours, the lighter shades were specifically used to brighten up the internal
courtyard.
Steve Elwen, chartered
architect at GSSArchitecture, based in Harrogate, said: “We chose EQUITONE as
it’s a robust and durable material that has a life expectancy of at least 50
years and its A2-s1, d0 fire classification makes it a perfect facade choice.
“For this project, we
were inspired by minimal and subtle Scandinavian design, which is popular for
educational projects due to it being modern and on-trend, and EQUITONE
[tectiva] created this aesthetic perfectly as it has a range of elegant and
natural shades.
"The material can
be cut into different shapes and sizes, which allowed us to break the panels up
and create an eye-catching pattern.”
The accommodation
consists of five separate blocks around two courtyards. Most of the development
is taken up by eight-bedroom clusters with a communal kitchen and dining space.
There are also 20 deluxe rooms, 28 self-contained one-bed apartments and six
wheelchair accessible flats.
Steve added: “The
buildings are laid out in a zig zag pattern, allowing them to make the most of
natural sunlight. We used more of EQUITONE [tectiva] in colour Chalk, which is
lighter in shade than the two other panels, to brighten up the courtyard area,
making it a more pleasant area to be in.
“We originally wanted
to use a secret fix system to secure EQUITONE onto the building but with strict
budgets we decided to opt for a face fixing, which blended in perfectly with
the cladding itself, making it a great alternative when budgets are tight.”
EQUITONE [tectiva] is
a through-coloured fibre cement facade material that offers elegant shades of
natural colour providing a unique aesthetic effect.
Characterised by the
fine-sanded lines and naturally occurring hues within the material, these
enhance the natural matt appearance, which comes to life with the effects of
light and shade.
All EQUITONE materials
are available in a range of colours, finishes and fixing options, giving full
creative scope.
