Project Spotlight: Hampton by Hilton Hotel, Stansted Airport
Specifier
Leach Rhodes Walker Architects (LRW), London
Project Overview
The Hampton by Hilton London Stansted Airport is a new 357-room hotel, located just a six minute shuttle bus ride from the airport’s terminal building. Designed by the London office of Leach Rhodes Walker Architects (LRW), the £27 million scheme was specified with Shackerley’s SureClad® ceramic granite ventilated cladding system across all the building’s façades. The use of Shackerley’s SureClad® ceramic granite system has created a contemporary and elegant aesthetic with a robust finish that will retain a quality appearance over time.
Design Requirements
A ‘C’ shaped building, the hotel has been designed to mirror the terminal building in verticality and modularity. It has also been inspired by the architect’s own Roman heritage, drawing upon aesthetic influences from the buildings of Rome’s EUR district, an area of the city that was constructed for the proposed Universal Exposition of Rome in 1942.
Shackerley’s SureClad® ceramic granite ventilated façade system was specified in a variegated grey/white colourway with a natural finish. The system was chosen to combine Italian-inspired classic design with an aesthetic that differentiates the hospitality nature of the hotel building from the commercial functionality of the surrounding airport buildings. The SureClad® ceramic granite also contrasts with the recessed glazed reception/bar/restaurant area on the hotel’s ground floor.
SureClad® ceramic granite’s inherent impermeability and resistance to the elements also provided the robust finish needed to withstand an airport environment and retain a quality appearance over time.
Materials Used
A total of more than 10,000 SureClad® ceramic granite panels in grey/white ‘Nerva’ were individually cut at Shackerley’s ISO900l accredited production plant in Lancashire. Providing a total façade area of 3914 m2, the fully-prefabricated 1192mm x 595mm panels were individually cut to suit the architect’s design module, which is based on a pattern between the 500mm wide columns, which are repeated consistently across the building.
