Maple have won the contract for a huge vertical fin façade at Stafford College.
The project is for the new £28m Skills and Innovation Centre. And fittingly, it’s showcasing our own skills and experience.
For one part of the three-storey façade,
vertical fins will be pre-assembled off-site into modular sections for ease of installation. Elsewhere, individual fins will be fixed to the curtain walling with our specialist brackets.
We’re using lightweight aluminium instead of timber to achieve the length of span required – but applying innovative woodgrain-effect powder-coating to realise the architect’s vision for a timber finish.
As well as stretching vertically, the timber-effect fins will also form a ‘roof’ across a large, curved façade, which has been designed to be a major visual feature of the new college building.
Similar fins will be used to screen a rooftop sub-station from view, while Maple are also installing an extensive louvred
plant-screening system on the roof.
When complete in 2023, the Skills and Innovation Centre will provide modern construction, engineering and motor vehicle facilities, along with a four-court sports hall, gym and 300-seat auditorium.