PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: MARKET STREET, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
Specified by: Watkin Jones
Project Overview
The Market Street project in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne is a 225-bedroom student accommodation development, consisting of 46 studio apartments, two DDA rooms and 177 bedrooms arranged in clusters. The project has been delivered as a design and build scheme by Watkin Jones, the largest provider of student accommodation in the UK.
Watkin Jones had already used Shackerley’s SureClad® Engineered Stone facade system for the St Mungo’s student accommodation project in Glasgow and looked to the range again to meet strict planning guidelines relating to architectural context with the surrounding built environment. In both cities, durable, versatile SureClad® Engineered Stone has been used to provide design flexibility and complement the aesthetics of local buildings, while ensuring a robust facade with proven fire safety.
Design Requirements
Watkin Jones was keen to embed safety into the cladding specification for the multi-occupancy residential building and the SureClad® Engineered Stone range’s A2-rating (to BS-EN 13501-1) for fire safety was a key benefit of the system.
Subtle variations have been used to create interest and depth for the facade, with two white colourways used for the beams and the flat areas of the elevations. In addition, a small feature area has been completed using brick red SureClad® Ceramic Granite in a rustic, textured finish at ground floor level.
Material Used
Shackerley’s SureClad® Engineered Stone facade system was specified in a pure white with light grey flecks and a mottled white, both in a honed finish.
Large format 3050 x 1240 panels were used for the majority of the facade. The panels used were just 20mm thick, providing both a natural stone appearance and a very lightweight and resilient facade solution. More than 100 different individual facade components were pre-fabricated for the facade details.
For a c.50m2 feature wall at low level near the entrance, 1500 x 749mm panels of SureClad® Ceramic Granite in a textured, rustic brick red finish were used.
All panels were installed using the SureClad® Hang On system.
