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Rainscreen cladding panels and antislip flooring from Steni
UK have been used by GML Construction on their largest
modular project to date for a quadruplicate of reasons –
sustainability, low maintenance, aesthetics and durability. |
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1,000m2 of Steni’s Stoneflex Class 0 fire rated glass fibre
reinforced polyester resin cladding panels, that are built
up to provide a surface finish of natural stone, have been
employed on a 2,800m2 temporary building at the University
of Sussex. |
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The main wall and mid-band
panels were supplied in the colours “French Rouget” and the
fascias in Java Grey to blend in with neighbouring
structures. |
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They are complemented at
entrances and on exit ramps by 30m² of Steni’s white and
25m² of Steni’s beige antislip flooring – a composite of
glass fibre polyester resin and stone whose fine aggregate
surface is over-bonded with clear resin to give a
long-lasting surface for ramps, step covers, walkways,
pontoons, bridges and deckings. |
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The temporary two-storey
“Friston” building in the university’s science complex
represents £1.5 million of a £100 million capital projects
and development programme for the 1960s Falmer campus in
Brighton that incorporates both new build and refurbishment.
GML Construction took a total of just five months to erect
it. |
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The university’s brief to design
and build contractor GML was to provide a temporary
(approximately a two-year hire) building for staff and
students to decant into while major reconstruction and
modernisation work took place elsewhere on the campus within
a 20-week contract period and with minimal disruption. |
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GML Construction, who have used
Steni materials regularly over the past 19 years, met this
by providing a modular building where most of the floor,
roof and wall cassettes were manufactured off-site,
minimising site construction time. Steni’s lightweight
Stoneflex panels, which took less than a month to install,
were fixed to all external elevations, fascia details,
mid-band cover panels. The antislip flooring, which is also
low-maintenance and durable, can be walked on immediately
after installation, instantly improving safety. |
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GML Construction’s sales manager
Mike Maynard said: “Steni’s Stoneflex panels offer a robust
and cost-effective cladding solution for our modular
buildings. They are extremely low-maintenance, visually
appealing and have a durable external finish. |
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“They also contribute to the
sustainability of the building due to their long life span
as when the building is removed, all the Stoneflex panels
and claddings can and will be reused on a variety of other
buildings projects, resulting in a very low carbon
footprint.” |
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He added: “The client is very
pleased with the overall finish of this temporary building
and the speed of construction which was in part due to the
off-site prefabrication of the wall panels.” |
