PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: The Copper House, Liverpool
Specified by: Leach Rhodes Walker
Project Overview
The Copper House is a £100 million build-to-rent (BTR) residential development by Patten Properties and Panacea Property Development joint venture, located on Liverpool’s UNESCO Heritage Site waterfront.
An imposing 16-storey development, the project comprises 383 apartments within two towers, along with a private gym, private meeting rooms, a residents’ roof garden and 1,000 sq ft of commercial office space on the ground floor.
The project’s high profile and prominent location on Strand Street, along with the need to create an attractive, high-quality aesthetic to appeal to investors and occupiers, meant that every aspect of the specification had to be on point. The façade was particularly important because the building sits directly opposite the Three Graces; the jewels in Liverpool’s architectural, commercial and historic heritage.
Design Requirements
The original design brief for a natural granite façade aimed to deliver the quality expected for a development on this site while complementing the materiality of nearby contemporary landmark, Mann Island. Having used Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite system on previous projects, architects, Leach Rhodes Walker, revised the specification to SureClad® Ceramic Granite, creating a façade that considers the local architectural context and the water itself, along with the dark, reflective façades of Mann Island.
As The Copper House is a waterfront development in a C4 coastal environment, a robust façade material was required to withstand the harsh saline atmosphere, exposure to the elements and airborne contaminants, making Shackerley’s UV resistant, non-porous SureClad® Ceramic Granite system an ideal choice for both long-term aesthetics and extended service life.
The detailing required for The Copper House’s façade was extremely complex. The versatility of Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite system, our ISO 9001 accredited manufacturing, and Shackerley’s experienced technical team enabled close collaboration with the façade installation company, FK Group, on the complex design requirements.
Finally, fire safety was also important. Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite is tested and certified as A1 non-combustible to BS-EN 13501-1 and, even with the addition of anti-fragmentation mesh, the panels used were A2-s1,d0 rated, ensuring the building complies with fire safety requirements for non-combustible cladding on residential buildings over 18m.
Since this project was specified, Shackerley has developed an A1 rated meshing system, which is available for SureClad® Ceramic Granite or Natural Stone installations.
Materials Used
Panels totalling, 2625m2 of SureClad® Ceramic Granite in a highly polished black/charcoal colourway were supplied to site, with all panels prefabricated and pre-assembled prior to delivery.
The installation was carried out using large format 1198 x 598mm SureClad® panels, along with a number of special sizes, using the Queen’s Award winning Shackerley SureClad® Access system.
