industry news Perforated metal is a real alternative to glass cladding says industry body, Europerf P


erforated metal cladding is already widely used in buildings where it acts as an additional


external skin on top of glass cladding to provide added aesthetic or sun- screen qualities, but European perfora- tion industry body, Europerf, believes that in some buildings, it should be considered as a replacement for glass. Where a building’s external enve-


lope does not need to be fully ‘sealed’, such as in train stations, bus stations, car parks and other similar structures, then the benefits of light weight, dura- bility and ease of installation can make perforated metal cladding an ideal solution says Europerf. In addition, perforated cladding


with a large ‘open’ area design not only allows light to enter the building, but also provides natural ventilation


while limiting the ingress of rain and gusting winds as it acts as a highly effective baffle, which reduces wind speeds and turbulence. Olivier Janin, secretary general of Europerf, explained: “The purpose of perforated metal in architecture is to provide architects and specifiers with new solutions and ways of thinking about how a building can be designed. We have already been involved on several projects across Europe where perforated metal has been used as the primary external cladding, which provides a range of benefits over glass and other materials, such as reduced vandalism, ease of installa- tion and the ability to use the perfora- tions patterns to create additional design interest.”


Architype wins School Architect of the Year Award T


he award-winning architectural practice Architype, has won the British Council for School


Environments’ (BCSE) prestigious award for School Architect of the Year. The practice was recognised for its excellence in the design of education facilities. The director of BCSE Ty Goddard, said: “The quality of entries to these awards has been consis- tently high, and this year is no excep- tion. Architype demonstrates, in their


approach to school design, the kind of excellence we hope to achieve across the industry.” The judges recognised Architype’s


ability to consistently meet and exceed the client’s brief in innovative ways to enhance the teaching and learning environment for users, and involving teachers, pupils and the local community in the design process. In addition to winning this key industry accolade, Architype won two


Put Social back into Social Housing P


hillip Blond, the director of ResPublica credited as the architect of the Big Society, has


called on housing organisations to do public good beyond housing and to start being responsible for their own society. Mr. Blond insisted that housing organisations were absolutely crucial to tackling the debilitating challenges in society and questioned whether social housing was trapping people rather than acting as a trampoline to


help them to break out. Speaking at the Chartered Institute


of Housing (CIH) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate, Mr. Blond told delegates that the main driver of inequality over the last 30 years was lack of assets rather than income. Some people, he said, are seeing their wages lower in real terms than in the 1970s. He warned welfarism doesn’t help the poor and added that if we can’t build social net- works we are recreating caste, where


people are of different type and which shuts the poor out of jobs. He urged housing organisations to


become more area based, to be a platform for community develop- ment, to re-skill people and give them capacity and vision. “You have capacity and capital and your tenants don’t,” he said. In the same session Cliff Prior,


chief executive of Unltd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, gave examples of how housing organisa-


Sapphire completes prestige development contract T


he Cabot Circus development is the centre of Bristol’s largest city centre regeneration programme


since World War II. Consumers can choose from hundreds of shops, and numerous restaurants and entertain- ment facilities. The development fea- tures a spectacular glass roof over its central area. Every detail of this presti- gious development had to be right, so when the lighting contractor looked for balustrades with incorporated LED lights, they approached Sapphire Balustrades, a leading manufacturer and installer of premium balustrades. The lighting contractor had worked with Sapphire before and knew they


would rise to the challenge: “The architect, Benoy of London,


wanted LEDs integrated into the handrails on the steps of the main shopping mall,” comments the light- ing contractor. “Having worked together in the


past we were confident Sapphire would be able to develop the client’s ideas and provide the right product, while ensuring all safety and strength requirements were met.” Sapphire supplied balustrades


from its Onyx range, complete with integrated LED lights to provide the finishing touch to the central area of the shopping mall.


tions working with local people were creating a platform for people on estates to get into business. Mr Prior said: “The most important


[thing] is to give your tenants the op- portunity to step forward as social entrepreneurs” and urged housing organisations to give the “small scale help” that would support social ven- tures. He concluded: “In our view every community facing problems contains people within it who can help tackle it.”


further BCSE awards for Excellence in Design for Teaching and Learning for best Special Education Needs (SEN) school and also for best Independent School. The Gower School in London, which won the independent school category, showed Architype’s astute response to a complex brief that resolved rigid construction limitations in a dense, urban location. Architype’s designs for Green Park School (part of The Willows campus, which also


includes Stowlawn Primary School) in Wolverhampton won the SEN award, recognising how the practice suc- cessfully and sensitively combined education facilities for special and standard needs. The judges also com- mended Architype’s Bessemer Grange Primary School and Children’s Centre in Southwark in the Sustainable School of the Year category.


www.buildingconstructiondesign.eu 5


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