22 COPPER BUILDING, BRISTOL
“Urban Splash are a visionary client, with a habit of transforming unloved buildings and places” Nick Brown, FMA Architects
scale.” However Brown adds that this delay did mean that the designers had the benefit of seeing the copper on the other project weather slightly before it was installed here, reinforcing their expectations.
Precise execution by the contractors was key to success, as the thin reveal trims needed to align with a vertical cladding seam both above and below, but the window locations alternated from one bay to the next across four storeys. Close coordination between trades was crucial to ensure that the tolerances could be accommodated, with little margin for error. At the outset, the installer set out a full-size bay to review the various problems with the architects, allowing details to be refined into a workable solution, says Brown. He is pleased to report that they “executed the finished cladding to perfection.” In fact it was the bright yellow PPC aluminium reveals of the variously sized windows that caused more of a design challenge, in terms of how they would appear in the finished result. Providing the intended playful contrast with the more restrained copper hues, they required more experimentation, which was undertaken through a series of onsite mockups. A standing seam envelope with variations in spacing of that seam was a further device to “enliven the elevations” which appears “quite random at first,” says Brown. However, there’s an underlying pattern of bays and connections between alternating windows.
Sustainability Photos © Urban Splash
The project as a whole offers some innovative design which harnessed the benefits of the original structure to provide sustainability benefits. For example in Phase 1 the new central atrium brings in light to the deep plan but also enables passive design measures such as stack effect natural ventilation of apartments. The project achieved an EcoHomes ‘Excellent’ rating thanks to high external wall insulation levels, and a combination of ground source heat pumps using boreholes, and biomass-powered underfloor heating.
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF DECEMBER 2020
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