PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: Yotel Manchester
Specified by: 5Plus Architects
Project Overview
Located in the heart of Manchester’s commercial centre and the Deansgate conservation area, Yotel Manchester has involved the conversion of a former 1960s office block into a quirky, contemporary hotel. The original building was stripped back to shell and core and extended with an additional two storeys.
The main contractor’s original proposal to design the façade with GRC cladding was rejected due to the constraints of the existing structure and Shackerely’s SureClad® Engineered Stone system was specified in a subtle grey colourway with a sandblasted finish for three of the façades.
Design Requirements
Due to the constraints of the existing structure, a lighter weight façade material with slimmer cladding panels was required and large, ‘slab-to-slab’ spanning 3050x1240mm Shackerley SureClad® Engineered Stone cladding panels were specified. At just 20mm the SureClad® Engineered Stone panels addressed the loading and façade thickness requirements.
The materials used also had to fit within the planning constraints of the Deansgate conservation area and a sample section of façade was built to highlight how well the Shackerley SureClad® Engineered Stone cladding system would fit in with the architectural context.
On the front elevation, the sloping pavement meant that the Shackerley SureClad® façade panels had to replicate the exact gradient of the ground. These panels were custom manufactured by the Shackerley team at one of our ISO 9001 certified factories in Lancashire.
The project was designed as an ‘eco’ hotel with a strong environmental focus. Made from 95% natural stone with no Portland cement and a unique binding agent, which has been proven to reduce the level of VOCs present in the final material by a hundredfold, Shackerley’s SureClad® Engineered Stone façade system delivered the development’s green goals, while ensuring a robust, low maintenance façade.
As a certified A2-S1, d0 non-combustible material to BS EN 13501-1, the SureClad® Engineered Stone façade system also provided assurance of fire safety for the hotel development.
Materials Used
Large format 3050x1240mm Shackerley SureClad® Engineered Stone cladding panels were specified in a subtle grey colourway with a sandblasted finish. Elements of mica in the crushed and refined natural stone used to create the Shackerley Engineered Stone give the cladding panels a natural reflectivity that glistens on the façade.
The Shackerley SureClad® Engineered Stone cladding system was used for a total façade area of 1038m2, providing the dominant façade material for three cores and highlighting the scale and substance of the building on the ground floor columns.
The Shackerley team worked with the delivery partners to create a layout that delivers the aesthetics of a bespoke façade while using standard panel sizes, and Shackerley’s SureClad® Hang On primary support system enabled the cladding contractor’s team to work around the discrepancies in wall straightness of the legacy structure.
