Cladding innovation
2012 countdown: The temporary basketball venue
The Olympics may need a basketball venue the size of an aeroplane hanger, but London can probably get by without one after they’re over. So they’ve made the whole thing demountable
Grosvenor Waterside by Make: Don’t tell Charles …
Within spitting distance of the notorious Chelsea Barracks site is this startlingly modern block of flats by Make Architects. Yet, so far, the good burghers of Belgravia haven’t uttered a word against it. And nor has you-know-who. What’s going on?
Crazy angles, soaring steel: Zaha Hadid’s Guangzhou opera house
As the Chinese city of Guangzhou races to build a new district in time for the 2010 Asian Games, the designs of two British architects enter the spotlight. Thomas Lane charts the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Zaha Hadid’s opera house and Wilkinson Eyre’s West Tower
The return of the glazed terracotta tile
Like an old punk band that reunites for one last gig, glazed terracotta tiles – famous for their early appearances on Victorian pubs and tube stations – are making a comeback. Stephen Kennett gives a big hand to two completed schemes that are shaking up the streets of London
Putting on the glitz: Brass cladding
More and more architects, enamoured of the golden lustre of brass, are choosing it as a cladding material, while others love it just because of the way it weathers
Party Tricks: Ash Sakula's Luton Carnival Arts Centre
Ash Sakula’s Carnival Arts Centre is Luton’s answer to Notting Hill – buzzing with life and invention and a haven for stiltwalkers and other forms of streetlife
Knotty problem: when cladding goes bad
Every man and his dog seem to be using timber for cladding. Well, it does look great. But without proper installation and maintenance, you could be in for a nasty surprise
Paradise Street, Liverpool: Mayfair comes to Merseyside
With a pricetag of £1bn , Liverpool One could have ended up as a never-ending shopping mall. But it’s a whole lot classier than that.
Cladding costs
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What it costs: Tiled cladding
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What it costs: curtain wall glazing
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What it costs: Insulated renders
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What it costs: Thermal insulation
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What it costs: Rainwater drainage
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What it costs: photovoltaics
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Costs: Curtain wallings
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Costs: Timber cladding for walls
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Costs: Coated steel claddings
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Costs: Prefabricated structural panels
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Costs: Stone facades
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Lifetimes costs: wall claddings
Cladding products
Fibre cement cladding solution
James Hardie has launched a fibre cement cladding solution called HardieLinea
Decorative facade panels
Formica Group has introduced its Vivix facade panels to the UK
External wall insulation
Alumasc’s wall insulation was used for the Moss Bank social housing project in Merseyside
Movers and makers 27 January 2012: Cladding
A round-up of news from cladding manufacturers
Bespoke double-skin facade
Wicona’s aluminium curtain walling was used for the headquarters building for KfW Bank in Frankfurt
Thin-joint mortar
Wienerberger has launched ZeroPlus, a thin-joint mortar that can be laid at 0°C
Cavity wall insulation
Knauf Insulation has launched Supafil 34, a glass mineral wool insulation designed to be blown into existing cavity walls
Thermal break modules
Schöck says its thermal break modules have outstanding thermal efficiency
Rapid rail support system
Metsec has launched a new side rail support system that uses a “click and fix” mechanism to secure C-section side rails in place
