NVELOPE, the rainscreen cladding specialist, has provided effective structural support for newly created student accommodation in Nottingham, via its NV2 system for concealed fix and structural bonding applications. A variety of cladding façades were used on the £60 million redevelopment project, including terracotta tiles provided by Telling Architectural and aluminium rainscreen cladding from Downer, part of Omnis Industries Ltd, which has achieved a unique, contemporary aesthetic for the new residence.
The redevelopment of Byron House was completed in September 2014, having commenced the previous autumn in 2013. The re-build has provided four new accommodation blocks with a total of 911 bedrooms in modern, furnished apartments for students of Nottingham Trent University. The purpose-built residence is situated in a vibrant area in close proximity to Nottingham city centre. Architect Church Lukas, based in the city, incorporated a mixture of cladding types into the design of the building to deliver a striking look and landmark student residence.
Surrey-based contractor, Vinvi Construction, specified the use of the NVELOPE NV2 system on two of the new accommodation blocks. The contactors had to keep to a tight programme of works, with only a year between the start and finish of the project. Cladding sub-contractors, Horbury Building Systems installed the different façade types using the NV2 system.
“The building’s unique architectural features presented some challenges, particularly on a project with such a tight turnaround,” explained James Herbert, Procurement Manager at Horbury Building Systems. “Having used NVELOPE’s products before on other projects, we know them to be reliable in offering quick lead times and fast supply of product. This really helped us to achieve the completion of a more complex project on time.”
Manufactured from aluminium alloys, NVELOPE’s NV2 system is ideally suited for structural bond and concealed fix vertical cladding applications. NVELOPE ‘T’ and ‘L’ profiles are fixed using NVELOPE support brackets through a series of flexible points. Flexible point brackets absorb wind loading and allow for expansion and contraction, whilst fixed point brackets absorb both vertical dead loads. NVELOPE brackets allow for adjustment between the face of the primary support to the outer face of the vertical profile, providing important flexibility in the cladding. When under strain from various weather conditions, including strong winds, the cladding is thus able to expand and contract. The NV2 system is available pre-assembled with thermal isolators as standard to help to prevent a chemical reaction occurring between the aluminium bracket and the line in a concrete frame, as well as to reduce thermal bridging.
NVELOPE maintains extensive stock to ensure that orders can always be met and where necessary, immediate delivery can also be provided. All NVELOPE cladding systems can be engineered to project specific requirements thanks to the expertise of its technical design support service. This provides architects and specifiers freedom with an almost infinite range of façade appearance and layout options.
Manufactured in the UK and developed using the highest specification alloys, all NVELOPE products and systems are BBA certified.
