Shackerley SureClad® Ceramic Facade
Shackerley has provided the SureClad® Ceramic Granite facade system for the prestigious £5.5 million Spitfire Gallery at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, delivering a facade that frames the iconic Spitfire aircraft as visitors approach the new two-storey extension.
The Spitfire’s designer, Reginald Joseph Mitchell, was born in North Staffordshire and the Spitfire is one of 24 planes and flying boats he designed during his career. The client, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and the architect, Glancy Nicholls Architects, wanted a cladding system for the gallery’s facade that provides a timeless and natural aesthetic, while providing durability that will stand the test of time. Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite facade system, in a creamy beige colourway and natural finish, provides the perfect solution for this design intent, showcasing the aircraft’s classic British design with a UK-manufactured facade system produced at one of Shackerley’s ISO 9001 certified factories in Lancashire.
The facade for the new Spitfire Gallery combines Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite cladding system with specialist strengthened glass, which creates a full height picture window to the front elevation. The facade features vertical fins to either side of the glazed section and the specialist expertise, facilities and software at Shackerley’s factories enabled bespoke manufacture of the cladding details required for both the vertical fins and the large raked soffits, which evoke the wings of the aircraft in the design of the building.
The raked soffits are integral to the facade, and Shackerley manufactured angled SureClad® Ceramic Granite return panels that create a diagonal joint in the soffit corners. Precision manufacturing in Shackerley’s ISO 9001 certified factories was also required for the tapered panels that create sills, which follow the slope of the ground. The Shackerley team cut these cladding panels to fit around full height columns, which are set at varying angles to create a feature.
Shackerley’s UK facade manufacturing capabilities were also essential for engraving the name of the new gallery into the ceramic granite facade panels. The letters were etched on eight of the large format 1202 X 600mm SureClad® Ceramic Granite panels with meticulous accuracy to ensure the sections of each letter could be lined-up seamlessly when the facade system was installed on site.
Shackerley’s in-house team of facade experts worked closely with the project’s design team to support the detailed design of the facade, ensuring that the SureClad® Ceramic Granite cladding system interfaced perfectly with other facade materials and provided a neat finish across all complex details.
The Shackerley SureClad® Ceramic Granite facade system was installed across a total facade area of more than 5,000 st ft for the 3,800 sq ft gallery project, using the Shackerley SureClad® Hang On facade fixing 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.
