“ Only the Nordic Royal delivered just what we were looking for … we don ’ t think we could have achieved the look of the temple ’ s roofs if we had used any other material .
EDITOR ’ S CHOICE
‘ But only the Nordic Royal delivered just what we were looking for in a roofing material . As it says in the manufacturer ’ s specification , we found that this copper alloy provides a matt golden colour that perfectly complements the gilded ornaments . It ’ s shine and brilliance changes throughout the day as the sun courses through the sky . Even on a rainy day , somehow the most golden glow is exhibited . In essence , we are overjoyed that such a material exists , as we don ’ t think we could have achieved the look of the temple ’ s roofs if we had used any other material ’.
The innovative Nordic Royal is an alloy of copper with aluminium and zinc , giving it a rich golden through-colour and making it very stable . It has a thin protective oxide layer containing all three alloy elements when produced . As a result , the surface retains its colour and simply loses some of its sheen over time , as the oxide layer thickens with exposure to the atmosphere to give a matt finish .
LOCAL LINKS
Although a recently developed and innovative material , Nordic Royal has been installed at Beara using traditional , hand-crafted techniques . All the crafts people involved were locally based including Wychbro Coppersmiths from Clonakilty , Stroker Fabrications from Enniskeane and the main contractor Beara Building Services , from Eyeries .
Photo : Leon Rossiter
EXTENSIVE ARCHITECTURAL RANGE
The Nordic Copper range of architectural copper and alloy products is available from Aurubis , part of the world ’ s leading integrated copper group and largest copper recycler . It includes Nordic Standard ‘ mill finish ’ and Nordic Brown pre-oxidised copper offering lighter ( Nordic Brown Light ) or darker shades of brown determined by the thickness of the oxide layer .
The extensive Nordic Blue , Nordic Green and Nordic Turquoise ranges have been developed with properties and colours based on the same brochantite mineralogy found in natural patinas all over the world . As well as the solid patina colours , ‘ Living ’ surfaces are available for each with other intensities of patina flecks revealing some of the dark oxidised background material . In addition to Nordic Royal , other copper alloys include Nordic Bronze and Nordic Brass which can be pre-weathered .
The local area also has long historical links with copper . The nearby Allihies Copper Mine Museum presented Dzogchen Beara Temple with one of two surviving copper ingots that were mined deep beneath the area during the 1800s . This was inserted for posterity into the main sacred ornament on top of the temple at a special ceremony .
A growing series of on-line ‘ copper stories ’ showcase the diversity of surfaces , forms and applications available with Nordic Copper today for all architectural typologies .
For more information visit : www . nordiccopper . com or email : NordicCopper @ aurubis . com .
Photo : Leon Rossiter Photo : Derek Corr
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