EQUITONE [tectiva]
fibre cement facade material has been used to improve the external aesthetics
of the University of the West of England’s (UWE) new £50m business school.
The Bristol Business
School provides teaching and learning facilities for students studying business
and law. The 17,000m2 new build, designed by employee-owned architect practice
Stride Treglown, offers a collaborative space for both the university and the
local business community.
Andrew Kingdon, senior
associate architect at Stride Treglown, said: “The Bristol Business School is
in the heart of the university’s Frenchay campus so it was important for the
build to have a sleek, crisp look to set the scene for future developments.
“We
specified EQUITONE [tectiva] because the sanded surface and naturally occurring
hues gave the right visual appearance for the project. EQUITONE [tectiva]
instils a sense of arrival and inspires civic pride, which is exactly what we
wanted from the build.”
EQUITONE [tectiva] is
a through-coloured facade material that displays fine sanded lines and
naturally occurring hues within the material, making each panel unique in
colour, texture and surface.
Andrew added: “We
found that EQUITONE was incredibly versatile and allowed us to be flexible with
our design as it can be cut down into different sizes and shapes.”
As well as the
aesthetic qualities, EQUITONE boasts a minimum life expectancy of at least 50
years and has an A2-s1,d0 fire classification.
“EQUITONE also
provided a large panel format rainscreen to protect the structure from
fluctuations in condensation and temperature,” added Andrew. “We received great
technical support and will using the material on future projects as a result.”
All EQUITONE materials
are available in a range of colours, finishes and fixing options, giving full
creative scope.
