Maple are stepping in to save a Swindon car park after the existing fins developed a fault.
We’re replacing all the terracotta baguettes with aluminium fins on the façade of the £12.4m Whalebridge multi-storey. More than 8,000m of metal fins will be powder-coated in a like-for-like terracotta colour and have the same profile and dimensions as the originals.
Swindon Borough Council’s application to its own planning department said: “The existing terracotta fins and cladding failed as a result of frost damage, stemming from an initial design error. They are currently unsafe and unsightly."
“The proposed aluminium replacements will be more weather-proof and robust, and more aesthetically pleasing when compared to the original fins.”
The first cracks appeared in 2018 – just five years after the car park was opened – and safety barriers have been in place at ground level ever since.
Maple have been appointed by DWF Adjusting to carry out the work, at no cost to the council. Work is scheduled to be completed in autumn 2023.
