SureClad® Ceramic Granite chosen for FujiFilm HQ

Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite has been used as the facade system to give FujiFilm Diosynth Biotechnologies’ new premises in Billingham, County Durham the ‘wow factor’.

The £14 million project, delivered by main contractor, Willmott Dixon, creates a contemporary work environment that reflects the global organisation’s high-tech nature. The new office building, which received a £1.6m grant and £5.4m loan from Tees Valley Combined Authority, will become the first stage of a new ‘bio campus’ for Billingham.

The project builds on the strength of Shackerley’s existing relationship with international design practice Ryder Architecture, who designed the new offices and advocated the use of Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite system, which was specified in a highly polished ‘Artic White’ colourway to express the scientific identity of the business, while providing contrast with the vacant space of the heavily glazed facades.

The Shackerley SureClad® facade connects the building architecturally to FujiFilm Diosynth Biotechnologies’ offices in North Carolina, delivering the same clean, white appearance. As Shackerley’s Ceramic Granite facade panels are impervious, the facade system also delivers the required functionality for the development, with a facade that will not discolour over time, is U/V resistant and resistant to algae and graffiti. Because Shackerley SureClad® Ceramic Granite is also classified as A1 non-combustible to BS EN 13501-1, with A2-s1,d0 rated anti-fragmentation safety mesh, the facade also provides FujiFilm Diosynth Biotechnologies with a reassurance of safety, alongside performance and aesthetics.

The facade design was developed using Shackerley’s 1200mm x 600mm large format SureClad® panels manufactured as an installation-ready facade system at one of Shackerley’s ISO 9001 accredited quality assured factories in Lancashire. Bespoke panels for design features such as sloping soffits, sloping reveals and returns and sloping sills, were also precision manufactured at one of Shackerley’s factories.

Shackerley’s SureClad® system was used as part of a Kingspan Facades QuadCore Karrier Panel system; a solution that combined Kingspan’s high-performance structural insulating QuadCore panels with the premium appearance of Shackerley’s fully prefabricated SureClad® Ceramic Granite cladding and the installation benefits of the patented and Queen’s Award-winning Shackerley SureClad® Access System.

More information on ceramic facades can be obtained here

Shackerley SureClad® ceramic cladding

Shackerley’s SureClad® ceramic cladding is the ideal ceramic rainscreen solution for any facade. The lightweight ceramic cladding system uses mechanically fixed large format cladding panels to create a ceramic facade that looks great on any building. Robust and hardwearing, the mechanical fixed cladding delivers a UV stable facade that will not fade or discolour over time. The SureClad® ceramic cladding system is UV resistant and creates a facade that is resistant to algae and graffiti. The large format

Ceramic cladding panels manufactured by Shackerley for our ceramic rainscreen system provide an installation-ready lightweight cladding, with undercut anchors for a mechanical fixed cladding solution that is secure and suitable for any porcelain facade design requirement.

Mechanical fixed facades mean each panel is secured with secret fix undercut anchors and produced under factory conditions to achieve the project facade windload requirements

Shackerley’s SureClad® ceramic cladding answers the non-combustible cladding requirements of BS EN13501-1. Our ceramic facade system is an A1 rated rainscreen. We offer a choice of A1 rated or A2 rated anti-fragmentation backing, resulting in an A1 rated ceramic facade or A2 S1 D0 cladding system.