School, Sheffield
Share
The robustness of Steni UK’s cladding panels has helped meet the architect’s design for the colourful exterior of the redeveloped City School in Sheffield.
Some 3,000m2 of Steni’s fibreglass reinforced polymer composite 7mm Colour panels, in a total of eight shades, has been used on the façade and main entrance soffit of Phases 1 and 2 of the £22 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project.
Phase 1, the new build element, incorporates a new dining hall, main hall, learning resource centre and visitors’ reception as well as maths, science, ICT and humanities classrooms .
Phase 2 comprised part refurbishment of the existing buildings, also by main contractor VINCI Construction UK. This involved stripping them back to their original steel structures and high-level stone cladding and installing new envelopes.
The redeveloped school was designed by architects at HLM to be inspiring to all, including the community which has access to its facilities after school hours. Students were involved in looking at key factors in the planning process such as design, sustainability, landscape and technology.
Steni’s lightweight panels, which feature a smooth surface of 100% acrylic that is electron beam cured without the use of solvents, were installed in long horizontal and vertical bands and in colours ranging from light yellow to dark grey by specialist sub-contractor NG Developments.
The rainscreen element used structural adhesive onto an aluminium sub-structure and the remainder was made up into Steni-faced composite panels and glazed into a low-rise aluminium glazing system.
NG’s Ian Dunn said: “The rainscreen cladding was particularly challenging due to the numerous differing colours and especially the sizes of the panels required for the architect’s scheme. The panels were structurally bonded to the carrier system which was carried out under specific weather conditions and within tight temperature and moisture levels.
“But the Steni panels are a robust product which helped with the installation of the larger panel areas.”
NG Developments’ work on Phase 1 was rewarded with a Contractor of the Month Safety Award for two consecutive months from VINCI Construction UK.
VINCI Construction UK project manager John Hartley said: “The windows and cladding package was technically challenging and involved high-risk activities, particularly working at height.”
