Shackerley’s ceramic granite ventilated cladding has provided a stunning outer envelope for University Square Stratford, a new £33 million landmark building in the heart of London’s East End.
Designed by Make Architects for Birkbeck, University of London and the University of East London (UEL), the new academic and educational hub was delivered in a design and build contract by VolkerFitzpatrick in association with AWW Architects.
The multi-functional building brings together lecture theatres, dance spaces, music rooms, teaching rooms, large presentation rooms and open-plan spaces in one architecturally striking development.
Make’s bold and expressive design comprises clearly defined interlocking blocks which articulate the internal functionality and organisation of space. Single extruded cantilevers on each side and double-height roof structures add to its distinctive angular geometry.
Requiring a premium quality cladding material to give a feeling of permanence and longevity, Make specified Shackerley’s Sureclad® ceramic granite ventilated façade for exterior elevations, selecting contrasting black panels in highly polished and naturally textured finishes.
Shackerley’s patented Sureclad® Access ventilated facade system helped the architects to deliver a practical, energy efficient outer envelope, with effective external thermal and acoustic insulation installed in the cavity behind the facade.
Achieving a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’, the building is a prime example of sustainable building design. Its many environmentally friendly features include photovoltaic panels incorporated into façade elevations, mounted on a Sureclad® carrier support system in planarity with the surrounding ceramic granite.
Make Project Architect James Taylor commented: “The strong ceramic granite exteriors of this new development, which completes the eastern end of the Stratford Cultural Quarter, help to give University Square a calm and confident atmosphere. The building feels like a new landmark, almost civic in scale and character, and the cladding has helped to create this presence in a modern way.”
For further information and a copy of the new Sureclad brochure please contact Shackerley on 0800 783 0391, email info@shackerley.com or visit www.shackerley.com
