Catnic Urban has been used extensively for both roofing and cladding on the Abbey Central housing development in West Bridgford, Nottingham.
For this site, where sustainability was a core principle, the steel standing seam system’s environmental credentials were just as important as the contemporary appearance and ease of installation.
The Abbey Central development, a joint venture between Peveril Homes and Stagfield Group, comprises 71, two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes in a variety of types. Four of the seven designs prominently feature Catnic Urban standing seam, installed by roofing and cladding specialist Ecoply.
One of the defining features of the development is its focus on sustainability. Abbey Central is one of the largest no-gas housing developments in the region and utilises low-carbon technologies such as air source heat pumps, solar PV panels and electric vehicle charging points throughout.
The design and specification of the homes also takes a ‘fabric first' approach to ensure minimal heat and energy losses. This commitment to low carbon housing means that some of the properties are designed to reduce CO₂ emissions and energy use by as much as 80% compared to building regulations, a level significantly higher than the industry standard of 19%.
This focus on sustainability is extended to the choice of building products, with responsibly sourced and locally produced materials prioritised. This was a key driver behind the selection of Catnic Urban.
Jesse Betts, Director at Ecoply explained: “The whole focus of the development was sustainability and durability, even down to the choice of products such as the rainwater systems where aluminium was utilised for longevity and recyclability. When it came to the roofing and cladding, we recommended Catnic Urban for the same reasons. We have installed Catnic Urban on a range of projects for more than a decade and knew it would achieve exactly what the developers were looking for in terms of sustainability and durability.”
Paul Brennan, Production Manager at Peveril Homes said: “One of the challenges of this demanding project was to turn the architectural vision into reality while meeting all the quality, sustainability, and planning requirements. Catnic Urban helped us to successfully meet all these challenges, as evidenced by the stunning finished development.”
Catnic Urban is manufactured in the UK from pre-finished steel, which is rated A+ under BRE certification and the product carries BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing certification. Catnic Urban is also BBA certified, assessed for strength, stability, weathertightness, condensation risk and durability when used for both roof and wall cladding, and is supplied with a 25-year Confidex® Home Guarantee for residential buildings or a Confidex® Guarantee for commercial buildings.
Ease of installation was also an important factor, especially as some of the properties featured large areas of Catnic Urban. The most striking of these is the four-bedroom, three storey ‘Madrid’ homes. On these properties, the Catnic Urban that covers the roof also extends down and entirely covers the walls of the second and third storeys with seamlessly integrated large format windows that provide light and views for the bedrooms and family room.
Jesse explains the challenge of achieving this: “These properties required seven-metre long panels for the cladding, which needed to be manoeuvred into position around scaffolding. This was made far easier because of how light and easy to handle the Catnic Urban panels are. It is also supplied as a full kit of parts with everything needed for the installation, which is particularly important on sites such as this where we are working across a number of properties.”
“At Ecoply, we have a strong relationship with Catnic and the service the team offered was excellent. The ordering process was simple and at the times when we needed to meet tight delivery timescales to fit in with the wider programme, Catnic ensured we had the products on site just when we needed them.”
In addition, rooftop solar PV panels were integrated onto the standing seam roofs. Catnic Urban is solar ready and available with integrated solar cells (Catnic SolarSeam) or with easy to install clips for mounting traditional PV panels, which was the approach taken for Abbey Central. Unlike product guarantees from some manufacturers, the installation of solar does not affect the Confidex® Home Guarantee.
