presentation of “New Engineering Building” in Sheffield (UK)

press release, December 2015

The Czech company Sipral a.s. (joint stock company), a leading supplier of complex solutions for glazed facade systems, has contributed to one of the most prestigious investment projects in Sheffield, namely the construction of the New Engineering Building of the university.

The project “New Engineering Building”, which was assigned to Sipral in autumn 2013, became the company's awaited comeback onto the British market following the long period of economic crisis in Europe. The building is situated in Leavygreave Road, in the very heart of the university city of Sheffield, and in its uniqueness forms a very interesting contrast between the typical British redbrick construction and the more modern buildings in the surrounding area.

The investor of this construction was the University of Sheffield itself, for whom the project represents its historically largest investment in the field of teaching and education. The general contractor was the company Balfour Beatty Construction, whilst the architectural design originates from the workshop of Twelve architects & Masterplanners.

“The facade design inspired the name of the building - The Diamond. We have created a memorable and distinctive design that reflects the world class reputation of The University's Faculty of Engineering. The design makes reference to the stone detailing of the surrounding historic buildings in a contemporary, innovative and 'engineered' aesthetic,” states architect and director Matt Cartwright from the company Twelve architects & Masterplanners, adding: “The real success of the facade has been in it's realisation, fabrication, and installation. We have worked in close collaboration with Sipral and together we have shared a common passion to create a fantastic solution that is on budget and exceeds expectation.”

The main aim of the university was to construct the best and best equipped technical teaching premises and laboratories in Britain, providing access to students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The new building provides a total of 9 lecture theatres, 6 flexible classrooms, over 30 group and communal classrooms and 19 technical teaching laboratories with very specific equipment, e.g. a room with an aviation motor – for the technical faculty of the University of Sheffield. Altogether it therefore provides almost 5 000 study places for students from all over the world.

The building was opened for teaching at the end of September 2015, in time for the beginning of the new academic year.

supply of exterior cladding

“For us the Sheffield University Diamond Project meant above all working on an amazing project. The seemingly simple glazed module facade is complemented by a projecting decorative construction in golden brown colour evoking diamonds, and overall creates a superb, unique and pure impression in terms of its design. In his team at Twelve Architects, Matt Cartwright has created a building which is on its way to winning acclaim at architecture competitions. And if I praise the construction itself, I must also mention the highly successful and pleasant co-operation not only with the architects, but also with the client and general contractor Balfour Beatty. I would be very eager to work on more projects of this type,” states Radim Koštial, commercial director of the Sipral company.

803 unique modules, 10 814 modules with bronze surface

The largest part of the facade is formed by element facade of approx. 6 000 m² and 803 unique elements (typical size of a module is 1,8 m x 4,5 m, the greatest height is 5,5 m, the smallest height is 2,2 m). Modules are developed of system aluminum Hueck profiles designed especially for this project in black RAL9004. Most of the facade elements are all-glazed. On each element there are at least 2 but in some places there are 12 pieces of glass units of various shapes, dimensions and compositions. Final cladding made of specially curved aluminum sheets, so called lattice forms a very specific and unique delivery. Thanks to many tests, presentations and sampling Sipral reached the final required shape, appearance and fixing to the facade. Lattice is formed with 2 mm aluminum sheets of various lengths (1 – 5 m) with specific segmented bent on both ends. Exterior facade is composed of 10 814 pieces with bronze surface treatment. Interior facade consists of 2 707 pieces of black lattice. Complex stick-system facade of atrium has total area of 681 m². A significant part of their panels is formed with frameless opening glazed louvers aimed for natural ventilation and smoke exhaust in cooperation with peripheral opening louvers with a frame, in roof stick-system facade Clerestory of 273 m². Other three corner stick-system facades of 583 m² on the ground-floor are located in the place of the building entrances. Sipral also delivered 32 doors on the ground-floor, 8 entrance revolving doors with manual opening and small structures of anodized soffits.

Further details about the project are available on the website of the University of Sheffield: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/diamond

on the website of Twelve architects & Masterplanners:

http://www.twelvearchitects.com/portfolio/item/the-university-of-sheffield/

and on the website of the Sipral company: http://www.sipral.cz/diamond-university-sheffield