Product category:
Cladding and Facades
News Release from: Shackerley (Holdings) | Subject: Ceramic granite facade
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 06 April 2005
Ceramic granite facade for Stratford
retail park
Shackerley provides ceramic granite facade for Stratford's biggest retail park.
Shackerley provides ceramic granite facade for Stratford's biggest retail park Shoppers at Stratford Upon Avon's biggest and busiest retail park, The Maybird Centre, could be forgiven for thinking their stores have all had a 'marble makeover'
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 19 Mar 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The retail outlets in this extensive development, including some of the UK's biggest high street names, have had their dowdy brickwork and rosemary tiled facades transformed with polished blue-black ceramic granite cladding supplied by Lancashire based Shackerley Holdings Group Limited.
The fully vitrified ceramic granite panels have been specially manufactured and polished to give the reflectivity and natural appearance of marble, complete with its characteristic random silvery veins and flecks.
They have been fitted using Shackerley's Sureclad support system - a sturdy prefabricated aluminium and stainless steel substructure to which the ceramic slabs are attached using a patented stainless steel undercut expanding anchor method.
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When Maybird owners, Hermes, the London based property investment managers, decided that the Centre was to undergo a much-needed exterior refurbishment, they commissioned BRH Architects of Liverpool to deliver a new upmarket image.
Natural marble cladding was one of the options considered to set the Maybird apart from other retail centres in the area, in what became known as the 'Reimaging Project'.
However the architects were intrigued to hear about the ceramic granite rainscreen system that Shackerley had supplied for the Hilton London Gatwick Airport, and they were soon exploring the possibility of using this exceptionally hardwearing and relatively lightweight material instead.
Architect Brian McAnoy said: "We discovered that Shackerley was able to supply fully vitrified ceramic granite in a wide range of styles and finishes, including a polished blue-black veined and flecked version that was very much like the natural marble aesthetic we were looking for".
"We also found that ceramic granite is totally impervious, very durable and hardwearing, and doesn't have the naturally occurring fissures and flaws that can weaken quarried stones in their raw state".
"This inherent strength means that the slabs need only be a fraction of the thickness one would normally specify if using natural marble".
"This not only reduced our costs but greatly reduced the loadings on the external envelope." Brian continues: "We used 1200 x 600 x 12mm ceramic granite slabs for this refurb, and they were fitted by our installation company, Craftwork, using Shackerley's own Sureclad fixing system".
"We were very pleased with the way the way the cladding system worked, and with the final results".
"We were also impressed by the technical back-up we received from Shackerley".
"We needed to use their in-house prefabrication services during the installation project to precision-cut a number of the ceramic granite slabs to exact templates and this service proved to be invaluable." Keith Bugden of Hermes is also delighted with the new look of the Maybird Centre: "We have refurbished our properties in the past using naturally quarried marble but this project has shown that Shackerley's ceramic granite can be used as an aesthetically pleasing and cost effective alternative".
"The new cladding has definitely helped us to achieve a higher quality retail environment for the people of Stratford Upon Avon.".
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