PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: Novotel and Adagio Hotels
Specified by: Leach Rhodes Walker, Manchester
Project Overview
Leicester-based property investment and development group, Charles Street Buildings, has redeveloped a prime city centre site in Leicester, which was formerly occupied by the Grand Central Station.
The developer wanted to create a legacy project that would showcase their quality approach. The resulting mixed-use scheme comprises two hotels, prestigious office accommodation and a leisure destination within the refurbished former station building, set within pedestrianised public realm improvements.
Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite ventilated facade system enabled Charles Street Buildings to specify various colourways and finishes for the two hotels and the office development from a single supplier. Not only did this bring variation to the project, balancing synergy with differentiation, it also offered project planning and co-ordination advantages, buildability benefits and confidence in a façade that will stand the test of time.
Design Requirements
Both of the development’s hotels will be operated by Accor, drawing on two of the hotel company’s popular brands. The 100-room Adagio Apart Hotel sits side by side with a 152-room Novotel, and it was important for the facade system to differentiate the two hotels while offering consistency of quality and materiality.
Charles Street Buildings and Leach Rhodes Walker Architects were both involved in selecting the facade materials for the project. They wanted a facade system that would offer a stone-like appearance to complement the public realm improvements, while providing a cost-effective solution for the lifespan of the assets. With its durability and low maintenance credentials, Shackerley’s SureClad® system was the ideal response, and the variety of colourways and finishes within the range provided plenty of scope to differentiate the two buildings while using the same system and co-ordinated supply for both.
Reduced maintenance thanks to the SureClad® Ceramic Granite System’s resistance to graffiti and algae growth, along with the panels’ resistance to discolouration due to U/V or pollution, provided reassurance that the hotels will retain their high-quality appearance over time.
The SureClad® Ceramic Granite system also provided proven fire safety credentials because it is certified as A1 non-combustible to BS EN 13501-1.
As part of the specification process, the Charles Street Buildings team visited Shackerley’s ISO 9001 production plant and the material supplier in Italy before making a final decision.
Gretta Murphy director of Charles Street Buildings commented: “The facade is the first thing a visitor sees when arriving at a development so it’s important to get it right. The site visits to Italy and Shackerley’s headquarters in Lancashire provided us with reassurance in a quality product and a reliable supply chain. Using a system that was fabricated in the UK was a big plus for us and the specification process gave us confidence that Shackerley’s SureClad® system would provide buildability, aesthetics and durability benefits, along with a smooth-running programme.”
Materials Used
Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite system was specified in a mid-grey ‘Riven’ colourway with a natural finish for the Novotel building and a ‘Travertine’ honed beige colourway for the Adagio apart hotel.
The original specification called for bespoke panel sizes to co-ordinate with the fenestration scheme but this was value engineered to enable standard 1198 x 595mm panels to be used.
The SureClad® Access installation system allowed the panels to be installed non-sequentially.
