Manchester’s New Islington district has achieved a renaissance for a large area of previously redundant mills and industrial buildings.
Located on the canal side, One Vesta Street, developed by Manchester Life Development Company (MLDC), brings 169 new apartments and three townhouses to the area, on the site of a former iron foundry.
Early engagement between the project team and ventilated façade specialist, Shackerley, led to a change in specification to Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite system, which is certified Class A1 to BS EN 13501-1 for fire safety. The result is an elegant, creamy-beige residential development with excellent fire safety credentials.
Long-Term Aesthetics
The eight-storey One Vesta Street apartment block features Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite ventilated system on every elevation, totalling a façade area of 5123m2. The creamy-beige ‘Lopar’ panels provide a natural, grained effect to give a limestone-like appearance to the building.
Switching from GRC to Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite system delivered commercial benefits and reduced the structural loading of the façade system. It also provided advantages in terms of faster installation.
The SureClad® Ceramic Granite panels will also ensure that the building keeps its high quality, contemporary aesthetic for longer. The panels are completely impervious so will not discolour due to weathering or pollution. The Shackerley ceramic granite is also resistant to freeze/thaw damage, U/V, algae and graffiti.
Supply Chain Engagement
Creating a great first impression was such an important part of the design intent and Manchester Life’s goals for the scheme that material selection for the façade was a detailed and involved process. Shackerley provided a number of large samples, with mounted panel sections to demonstrate how the façade would be installed, as well as how it would look. The company then invited members of the project team to its ISO 9001 production plant in Lancashire.
The façade design involved 280 different SureClad® Ceramic Granite panel sizes, all plotted on the façade design and required on site in line with the installation sequence. Every panel type and consignment was given a unique barcode linked to Shackerley’s production system, to ensure deliveries were fully traceable and arrived aligned to the installation schedule.
Aston Blake from the project’s cladding contractor, Speedclad Limited, comments: “Each section of the installation involved 12 panel sizes and each configuration of 12 panels was repeated randomly across the façade.
“Installing so many different panel types in such a complex configuration was like completing a giant 8,000 piece jigsaw, but Shackerley’s production team worked closely with us to manufacture the panels and store them ahead of time. This meant that we could simply call off what we needed as the installation progressed and have them delivered to site in time for when we required them, ensuring we could avoid any delays.”
The Speedclad team used both the Queen’s Award winning SureClad® Access installation system and the SureClad® Hang On system to meet the needs of the project.
Aston continues: “Most of this installation used the SureClad® Hang On system because it was more suitable for the random layout of the different panel types. However, for some areas, such as the horizontal banding created by using 1198 x 598 mm panels in a horizontal orientation around the base of the building at ground level, the SureClad® Access system was our preferred option. Having the flexibility to switch between the two was a significant advantage for our team.”
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