Clearview National August 2019 - Issue 213 | Page 60

ALUMINIUMEXTRA
Aluminium curtain walls unveiled
at stunning Yr Egin centre
» » ALUMINIUM GLAZING SYSTEMS BY
Kawneer feature at Welsh University’s new
creative and digital centre.
Architectural glazing systems by leading UK
manufacturer Kawneer played a key role in a
new state-of-the-art building which is at the
heart of Wales’ creative and digital future.
Kawneer’s AA®110 curtain walling, AA®720
doors and window vents, and series 190 doors
feature on the £10 million new creative and
digital centre, Canolfan S4C Yr Egin, located
on the University of Wales Trinity Saint
David’s (UWTSD) Carmarthen campus.
Specified by BDP architects, they were
installed over 10 months by a team of up to
eight from Kawneer-approved dealer APiC
UK for main contractor Kier Construction.
The AA®110 zone-drained curtain walling
with 65mm sightlines was used alongside
Kawneer’s thermally superior AA®720 doors
and series 190 automatic entrance doors on
the ground floor which houses a spacious
public café alongside performance space and
auditorium as well as resources for community
groups and offices for the building’s
administrative staff.
The AA®110 system also features on the first
floor, which is let to the centre’s main anchor
tenant – Welsh language broadcaster S4C - for
its headquarters (corporate, communications,
60 » AUG 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
finance, business affairs and legal departments)
alongside actuator-operated AA®720 top-hung,
open-out window vents.
And it also features on the third floor, which is
let to a number of different companies working
in the creative and digital sector, as well as on
a clerestory lantern above an atrium which
overarches the three storeys. Many of these
tenants will offer work experience to UWTSD
students, allowing them to make the most of the
university’s connections during their studies.
BDP’s award-winning design was based on
the close relationship between the university,
prospective tenants of the centre and the wider
community. This relationship, or trinity, is
reflected in its form – a simple triangle that
grows from Carmarthenshire’s soil, a titular
reference to Yr Egin – a Welsh play on words
referencing energy and birth.
The layout of the building encourages
collaboration, communication and interaction
between all users of the building, where
initial ideas can be shared and developed -
an incubator for the establishment of new
companies and a breeding ground for a new
generation of creative and technical people.
Externally, the theme of trinity is expressed
through the use of differing materials in a
tripartite arrangement - a dynamic, reflective
volume is seen to float over a solid plinth at
ground level and a translucent intermediate
layer reinforces the distinction between plinth
and reflective object.
The 3,600m2 building is linked to the main
campus by a large public square which allows
for the staging of a variety of outdoor activities
in its stunning Carmarthenshire location
between the Pembrokeshire coast and the
Brecon Beacons.
On the use of Kawneer’s systems, BDP’s
project architect noted: “As most of the façade
comprises curtain wall we needed a system
that could meet a wide range of performance
requirements. We specified Kawneer due to
their extensive range of features which met
the functional and aesthetic demands of the
project.
“The Kawneer curtain walling had a key
role in the project. As a naturally ventilated
building it has an active façade that reacts
to changing environmental conditions.
The Kawneer system houses the various
components that protect the interior from the
elements while allowing air to flow through.
“A key element of the building’s aesthetic
was to create a distinct character for each
level of the building - a challenge for a facade
almost entirely constructed from curtain wall.
This challenge was met by the extensive range
of Kawneer features, especially the fin capping,
which was vital to the characterisation of the
different elements of the facade.”
The durability, strength to weight ratio
and life cycle benefits of aluminium were
key factors in the consideration of Kawneer’s
system when specifying the external
envelope.
APiC UK senior sales and estimating
technician Andrew Finn said: “Working with
Kawneer we were able to offer solutions for all
the differing project requirements including
profiled vertical faced caps with new dies
for the 100mm and 150mm profiles to the
ground-floor curtain wall which was specified
to accommodate the vertical movement of the
building.
“The 100mm, 150mm and 200mm vertical
faced caps provide a strong vertical emphasis
to the curtain wall. The use of differing sizes
and finishes to these are designed to provide a
‘flickering effect”.