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Managing Editor James Parker
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FROM THE EDITOR
n the wake of Grenfell, as the inquiry continues to roll out a depressing litany of problems and loopholes within the construction industry, the focus has moved away from aluminium to other construction materials, such as insulation. However in this new world, which will need living in once Covid has eventually retreated, all of UK construction’s procurement methods and commonly-used materials are now rightly under scrutiny.
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The mainstream media – and then the public – tend to latch on to a few terms or phrases when it comes to seeking to blame something or someone for a disaster, although it’s likely in Grenfell’s case that no one person or team will ever be culpable. One of the terms would be aluminium, yet a quick look at the actual facts reveals that the panels used were composite aluminium ‘sandwiches,’ not solid aluminium – therefore targeting that material per se would be insane, yet also perhaps inevitable in the noise of current public discourse.
As more and more potentially causal factors become revealed within the product specification end of this horrendous saga, the only upside is that spotlight is turned away from one of the more important, useful and sustainable construction materials available.
While our project report in this supplement is a copper landmark in Bristol, balcony firm Alideck puts an impassioned case for aluminium on page 25. The firm’s Richard Izzard explains how the fire regulations have unsurprisingly tightened – seeing timber and composite decking banned from the list available for high-rise balconies. However, aluminium, he says, has stepped into the breach, and asserts that for buildings that fail new EWS1 surveys now demanded by mortgage lenders, non-combustible materials will have to replace their combustible counterparts.
The problem, says Izzard, is that high-rise developments are reportedly still being completed which were designed when the regulations were emerging post-Grenfell, and feature what are now non-compliant materials. Surely a retrospective replacement, whether or not it’s the perfect aesthetic solution, is likely to be on the cards?
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On page 27, in a piece entitled ‘Sustainability defined,’ Andrew Cross of Kestrel Aluminium Systems explains what many might know, but bears repeating; that aluminium can be endlessly recycled, losing little of its original properties. This makes it the ultimate sustainable metal in mainstream use. Unfortunately the cost of aluminium continues to escalate, however with an ever keener focus on hitting our 2020 net zero carbon goal, the potential of the material to reduce projects’ embodied carbon is luckily given greater weighting.
Also, if we are looking at extending upwards and outwards as a future sustainability maxim, rather than simply replacing existing buildings, do the lightweight properties of aluminium give it more potential to be seen as a worthy foe for steel frame in more sustainability-focused projects? Simple, light alu structures that harmonise with existing metal-framed buildings, or contrast with timber silhouettes, might well be something to look out for.
Enjoy the supplement!
James Parker Editor
METAL IN 12.20
ARCHITECTURE adf
ON THE COVER... The simply named ‘Copper Building’ by architects Ferguson Mann is a copper-clad apartment block in Bristol which replaces and takes cues from the Imperial Tobacco factory which used to sit on the site. Cover Image © Ferguson Mann
For the full report on this project, go to page 18
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF DECEMBER 2020
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