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Straight and smooth curved Kalzip aluminium standing seam
and galvanised liner sheets have been used to create the
tightly sealed, insulated and weatherproofed building
envelope of the Influenza Resource Centre (IRC) & UK Stem
Cell Bank in South Mimms. The Kalzip is over-clad in white
chestnut timber to satisfy local planning requirements for
this environmentally sensitive rural location. |
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NIBSC (National Institute for
Biological Standards & Control - a centre of the Health
Protection Agency) appointed Design & Build contractor,
Morgan Ashurst to do the construction work with
cross-discipline design consultants, Morgan Professional
Services (MPS) handling the detailed design and site support
stage of the project. |
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As the IRC comprises mostly
classified clean room laboratories, the main concern
beforehand was to provide a well-insulated and
weatherproofed envelope capable of keeping out all external
contaminants and preventing any internal biological agents
from escaping into the environment. “Kalzip was the obvious
choice to achieve the suitably sealed envelope with an
efficient rainwater management system and able to cope with
the structural loading of the timber rainscreen required to
achieve the aesthetic appearance of this uniquely designed
building,” says MPS Design Manager, David Downing. |
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After consulting with Kalzip’s
technical team, MPS produced a specification with indicative
details for each cladding junction. At this point, Kalzip’s
Approved Teamkal Contractor, Rossway Dowd |
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became involved and took
responsibility for the external envelope. A series of design
development meetings followed which resulted in the
production of a comprehensive set of detailed drawings. |
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As a precautionary measure,
Rossway Dowd then produced a full scale ‘Test Rig’ mock-up
of the complex curved part of the roof area in their
workshops in order to pre-test the proposed design solution
rather than risk dealing with any unforeseen problems
on-site. This proved to be a wise decision as it highlighted
a few issues that had not been evident from the drawings.
“It was this proactive approach in achieving the correct
design solution that led to the successful installation of
the building envelope which meets the client’s high
expectations,” concludes David Downing. |
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The solution involves the use of
straight and curved extruded aluminium T-section supports
which form a series of continuous vertical ribs along the
building’s length to create the desired envelope shape. The
T-section supports are mounted on angle brackets attached to
Kalzip aluminium seam clips that are fastened to the
standing seam without penetrating the Kalzip. A continuous
hidden gutter is installed just above top window level and 6
metre lengths of white chestnut cladding are affixed to the
T-section supports in staggered formation to form the
rainscreen. |
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Employing this over-cladding
construction technique means that an infinite variety of
creative design options are available to architects by using
the Kalzip standing seam system to insulate and weatherproof
the building envelope and carry virtually any type of
rainscreen cladding as an aesthetic façade. |
