Shackerley ceramic granite cladding

Sureclad ceramic granite ventilated rainscreen system from Shackerley enhances and protects Brough's new Petuaria Centre.

When architects at East Riding of Yorkshire Council were looking for an attractive and practical way to protect and enhance the appearance of the new Petuaria Centre in Brough - comprising a library, customer services centre and parish council community centre - they specified a Sureclad ceramic granite ventilated rainscreen system from Shackerley.

Architect Mike Cooper selected polished white ceramic granite slabs in a 600 x 300mm format to clad the one storey, multi-purpose civic building, and used dark green polished panels to create a feature band and to accentuate window areas.

Clark Construction of Grimsby installed the ceramic granite facade using Shackerley's Sureclad Access System, a high-grade aluminium ventilated rainscreen substructure facilitating easy removal and replacement of individual slabs.

"Our aim was to create a distinctive new facility for the people of Brough and Elloughton," said Mike.

"These new premises are in the heart of a residential development and we were keen to give the building a clear identity to differentiate it from its surroundings".

"The white ceramic granite with its sleek polished finish has provided the bright, clean look and the sharp lines we wanted to achieve." The architects were also particularly concerned about the long-term maintenance of their new building.

They were looking for a hardwearing cladding material that would not only protect against the elements, but which would offer a high degree of resistance to airborne pollution, organic growth and the scourge of many municipal buildings, wilful vandalism in the form of graffiti.

Mike explained; "The technical specification of Shackerley's ceramic granite is impressive".

"It's a Class B1A material, which means it has almost zero porosity".

"It should therefore retain its gleaming appearance and require very little maintenance indeed".

"Like all other public sector specifiers we always have to be aware of the potential for graffiti, but with this tough impervious material we're confident that any vandals defacing the building will only cause surface contamination which should be easy to remove." "Because we are using the Sureclad Access System it will be relatively straightforward to replace individual ceramic granite slabs without disturbing any of the other panels, in the unlikely event that irreparable damage is ever caused".

"We obviously hope the need will never arise, but we are keeping a few spare panels in storage just in case".

The Petuaria Centre - named after the Roman town which once thrived where Brough now stands - opened its doors to the public this summer.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council reports that local residents and users of the library and community centre are "delighted" with the appearance of their new facilities.

So are the architects, who say "It is likely that East Riding of Yorkshire Council will be using Shackerley's Sureclad ceramic granite rainscreen cladding again in the future.".

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