A new £6 million art and design centre at the Grimsby Institute has been given an eye-catching perforated metal façade (spelt facade in para. 6) by RMIG as part of a major refurbishment and extension scheme designed by Ryder Architects.
The development at the Nun’s Corner Campus involved the remodelling and extending of the existing C block building with the creation of linked three storey and four storey extensions to the north and south together with the re-cladding of the West elevation.
A further 1380 sq.m of new build area is created as a result of the extensions, which provide a range of facilities including design and graphics studios, ceramics workshops and music recording suite together with a fully equipped 200 capacity theatre incorporating changing rooms and theatre workshops for the Institute’s 430 art and design students.
Part of the redevelopment was to re-clad the exterior of the new theatre on the North elevation to reflect the artistic design and performance studies that take place within the new building. This resulted in Ryder Architecture working closely with one of the Grimsby Institute’s art tutors to create a three-dimensional design involving a series of overlapping and intersecting cubes.
As Ryder Architecture was already aware of RMIG’s perforated metal cladding and facades, the architects chose to collaborate with the design engineering team at RMIG and use the company’s advanced ImagePerf graphics perforation software to create a final solution that could then be programmed into the production machinery to create the complex pattern.
RMIG manufactured the cladding panels from 3mm thick J57S grade aluminium and produced the detailed pattern using a complex array of circular perforations to create the 3D shading effect within the artist’s original design. Once complete, every panel was anodised to give a non-reflective finish that helped show the design more clearly while also providing a protective finish to the facade.
RMIG’s Architectural Technical Manager, Andy Wadbrook-McLay, explained: “We have already undertaken countless perforation and exterior cladding projects across Europe, andthe 3D effect of the Grimsby Institute design presented some initial challenges to ensure the shading effects were rendered accurately, we were able to over come these using our ImagePerf system.”
He added: “Once the design had been mapped into ImagePerf, we were able to save time and cost as the system allows us to modify hole sizes and spacing within the design visualisation software, so that the best solution could be found and approved by Ryder Architecture before committing it to production.”
The Grimsby Institute project was handled under RMIG’s dedicated architectural and construction sector support programme, City-Emotion, which assists architects and contractors to realise their urban design concepts and convert them into real solutions for buildings. Further information on City Emotion, the RMIG Group, its product groups, markets served and the manufacturing solutions it provides can be obtained by visiting www.city-emotion.com.