When architects at careyjones chapmantolcher in Leeds specified Sureclad ceramic granite ventilated facades for the new Casa Hotel in Chesterfield, the off-site prefabrication, speed of installation and lifetime maintenance costs of Shackerley’s system were every bit as important as the final appearance of the building.
In just over a year the architects and main contractors Miller Construction delivered a £20million hotel and office complex for entrepreneur Steve Perez of Global Brands Ltd, an international drinks company. The new facilities include Chesterfield’s first four star hotel, with 100 bedrooms, 100-cover restaurant, bars and banqueting facilities on the first four floors. On the top two floors are Global Brands’ state of the art HQ and offices, and additional hotel conference rooms.
Associate architect Paul Cowlin-Chelin said that this was a “very challenging” fast track project partly because of the hybrid construction incorporating a post tensioning system to the first and second storeys, and also due to the extensive environmental modelling required to deliver a high level of energy efficiency and ensure compliance with Part L.
Completing the exterior envelope was more straightforward and despite extreme weather conditions, specialist contractors Norking soon had the Sureclad ceramic granite ventilated facade system installed. The facade panels had been cut to size and prefabricated in Shackerley’s ISO9001 quality certified production facilities and were delivered to site already safety meshed, pre-drilled and with preformed straps attached by a patented undercut stainless steel anchor system.
Paul commented: “We knew from projects such as the Dakota at Forth Bridge that Shackerley’s Sureclad system could be installed rapidly. The Sureclad Access carrier system and ceramic granite facades went up quickly and gave us a trouble-free interface with the curtain walling and glazing systems. In the cavity behind the facades we hid a number of services from view and installed Kingspan rainscreen boards to improve the thermal insulation of the building.”
A premium cladding finish was required to complement the luxurious styling of the interiors and to project the Casa Hotels brand. Explaining why ceramic granite had been specified in preference to natural stone, Paul pointed to the intrinsic strength and resilience of the material and its resistance to pollutants. “Ceramic granite may resemble naturally quarried stone in appearance but it is an exceptionally hard and totally impermeable material that won’t degrade or lose its looks, no matter how extreme the climatic conditions, UV-light intensity, and air pollution. As the hotel is situated on a very busy junction on one of Chesterfield’s main arterial roads, it was particularly important that the facades would be totally resistance to exhaust emissions and other airborne pollutants.”
Paul concluded, “From past experience we knew that Shackerley’s ceramic granite ventilated facades would give us the aesthetic appearance, the speed of installation and the technical performance required on this development, and would offer the lowest possible lifetime maintenance costs.”
The hotel has been nominated for several local and national awards and has already received the Most Innovative Property Award at the Derbyshire Times Business Awards 2010.
For further information please contact Shackerley (Holdings) Group Limited, Tel: 0800 783 0391, email: info@shackerley.com,www.shackerley.com
