A faceted SureClad® SureStone® façade from Shackerley at New Garden Square.

Bringing up to 1,600 homes and £6m of public realm improvements to the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, New Garden Square is a showpiece development creating a new community in the heart of the city.

Shackerley, and cladding contractor, Datum Group, were involved in the facades for two residential buildings from Moda. Shackerley’s SureClad®️ SureStone®️ façade system, a low porosity engineered stone, which is fire rated A2-s1,d0 to BS EN 13501-1, was specified for the project in two colourways; cream and grey, enabling the project to benefit from a homogenous material and joined up supply chain, while each building retains a distinctive, individual aesthetic.

The exceptionally complex requirements for a total façade area of 6636m2 were manufactured to order at Shackerley’s ISO 9001 certified Lancashire factories, including 5,828 3000x1200mmx20mm slab-to-slab spanning facade panels, and 1,995 mechanically-fixed mounted reveals.

Façade complexity

The Shackerley team worked on the New Garden Square project for three years prior to orders for the façade system being placed, including a huge amount of collaborative work at design development stage to revise the layout of the façade panels to achieve the most economical use of materials.

The façade system manufactured by Shackerley for the two buildings comprised 7823 panels and involved a variety of bespoke details, including ventilated panels and bracketed returns, which improved buildability, ease of installation, and consistency.

The 3000x1200mm slab-to-floor slab face spanning panels were just 20mm thick, and weighed only 50kg/m2.

The 1,995 mechanically-fixed mounted reveals, which were custom-made to order to the precise dimensions of the façade design, reduced installation time on site as well as enhancing the finish of the façade.

210 vented panels were also manufactured by Shackerley, using water jet equipment to create the vent apertures in the flat SureStone®️ panels, which delivered a precision finish with absolute consistency.

Custom fabricated bird boxes installed on level two and the top floor of each building were one of the most complex aspects of the façade. Eight bird boxes were manufactured to attract different bird species (5 sparrow and 3 swift) and Shackerley was required to mechanically fix custom-made sections of SureStone®️ material to aluminium bird box frames. The completed bird boxes were then fixed to the relevant façade panel within the quality assured environment of Shackerley’s factories, before being delivered to site as an installation-ready façade detail.

Detailed calculations for designing the fixing system were carried out to determine how many SureClad® brackets would be needed to make the fire breaks work, due to the complexity of the chamfered window details. Thanks to Shackerley’s advanced manufacturing facilities and technical expertise, all SureClad® fixings were factory installed in the exact locations required.

Bespoke design

All Shackerley’s SureClad®️ façades are supplied to order as installation ready panels, with pre-fitted aluminium brackets, which are secured with stainless steel undercut anchors to ensure a robust and durable façade, with no cutting or drilling required on site.

To install the facades, Datum Group used Shackerley’s SureClad®️ Hang-on carrier system, which has been especially designed to enable easier, neater and safer installation of heavier façade panels, without stressing the panels.

The level of precision and manufacturing excellence involved in producing the details for the two residential buildings at New Garden Square cannot be overstated. Almost every panel manufactured by Shackerley involved a rake cut, and the manufacturing requirements also included special angles for brackets and custom designed and manufactured brackets to meet the design requirements.

The same team of experts at Shackerley were involved in the project throughout the design and construction phases, ensuring a high standard of knowledge and collaboration throughout. The project is an excellent example of the design versatility of the Shackerley SureClad®️ system and SureStone® façade material, and the company’s advanced UK manufacturing capabilities.

To find out more about Shackerley façades, visit Material Source Studio Manchester, where Shackerley is a Partner. You can also book onto a technical CPD. Contact the team here.