Project Spotlight -
Ceramic granite façade provides a striking external envelope for a college designated as a 'beacon of change'
Grimsby Institute's higher education students can now study in world class surroundings at a new £10 million University Centre, a 7,300m² five-storey building housing state-of-the-art facilities. Externally the University Centre is equally impressive thanks to Ryder Architecture's specification of white polished ceramic granite ventilated façades from Shackerley's SureClad Collection.
Over 3000m² of Shackerley's cladding was installed in an optimal 1200 x 600mm panel format to minimise cutting and waste, and panels were also supplied in bespoke sizes for corner detailing.
Ryder wanted to clearly differentiate the new Centre from the existing Further Education buildings on the campus, as Architect Mark Clasper explains: "Our brief was to create a flagship building…somewhere aspirational that students could progress towards. We chose Shackerley's white polished granite cladding primarily for its aesthetics. We wanted a premium material that would help add a 'sense of grandeur' to the University Centre within its surroundings. The building is set amongst dense, mature trees, so the reflectivity of the material was also an important factor. Depending on the time of day, the elevations appear to have a mirrored finish, allowing them to take on the colours of the surrounding trees, landscape and sky."
He added: "Sustainability was also important. The ceramic granite scored an 'A' rating in the BRE Green Guide to material specification, contributing to the credits we achieved under MAT 1."
The building subsequently attained a BREEAM rating of 'Very Good'.
