PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: Ilkley Grammar School
Specified by: Langtry Langton Architects
Project Overview
A high school for students aged 11-18, Ilkley Grammar School near Bradford is part of the Moorlands Learning Trust multi-academy trust. The school can trace its history back to the 1600s and has a traditional 19th century main building, along with a host of enviable facilities, including tennis courts, a fully-equipped drama studio and an indoor swimming pool.
Bradford Council has invested in extending capacity and enhancing facilities still further with the construction of a new teaching block on the campus.
Designed by Langtry Langton Architects, this three-storey building comprises 15 new English and humanities classrooms, a new dining hall, offices and toilet facilities. Part of the design brief was that the new building should be sympathetic to the local built environment in Ilkley, which is characterised by dark grey slate and cream-coloured Yorkshire sandstone. Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite ventilated façade system in a natural creamy-beige honed Lopar colourway and strutt-finished Rio Black enabled the architectural team to deliver the design intent of a natural aesthetic in-keeping with the local built environment while offering reduced structural loadings, cost advantages and long-term maintenance benefits as compared to natural sandstone.
Design Requirements
Shackerley’s creamy-beige Lopar SureClad® Ceramic Granite panels offered an authentic-looking alternative to stone with natural variation. In this way, the architect was able to create the aesthetic they wanted, while achieving significant cost savings on the building structure and buildability benefits.
SureClad® Ceramic Granite in Lopar has become a popular specification because it provides a low-maintenance, lightweight and technically superior alternative to sandstone while giving the façade a natural appearance.
The SureClad® Ceramic Granite system also provides a low maintenance solution for the teaching block, which will retain its high-quality appearance over time thanks to the impervious nature of the material. Resistant to discolouration due to U/V or pollution, the façade of the new building will not be damaged by the effects of freeze/thaw conditions and will be resistant to both graffiti and algae growth. It is also certified as an A1 non-combustible material to BS EN 13501-1.
The architect also wanted to create contrast as part of the design for the façade and were able to do this within the SureClad Ceramic Granite range by specifying the system in Rio Black for the horizontal details at the top and bottom of each elevation and for the window reveals and soffits.
Materials Used
Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite system was specified in Lopar and Rio Black, and installed using the SureClad® Hang On system.
A 592m2 area of the façade was clad using the SureClad® Ceramic Granite system in LOPAR with a mix of large format panels to create a vertical pattern of regular variation on the façade. The 132m2 of the façade specified in Rio Black used the same pairing of panel sizes, along with additional bespoke panels and details, which were manufactured by Shackerley for the horizontal details and window returns.
