Architect and Builder Dec 2017 / Jan 2018 | Page 32

Façade Engineered by Arup, the east and west façades consist of masonry walls with punctured windows lined with aluminium pop-out elements which frame the openings. This provides a contrast between masonry and metal elements, but also provides a 3-dimensional façade aesthetic. The brick façade creates a counterpoint to the largely glazed buildings in the rest of the Silo District, responding directly to the exposed aggregate façade of the Zeitz MOCAA. The façade allows for maximum utility and quick glass replacement of the window and its surround by using readily locally available materials and fabrication techniques. The windows are double- glazed with performance glass and provide the best possible unobstructed view out of the hotel rooms, while maximising natural daylight and minimising heat gain. The expressed aluminium ‘picture frame’ surround of the windows creates a sophisticated crisp offset to the rough surrounding industrial-aesthetic brickwork. Façade Materials Materials are a combination of hardwearing facebrick envelope with a robust concrete structural frame to reflect the robust harbour environment, metal work and sheet metal cladding to convey the warehouse/semi-industrial character. The facebrick façade has been laid in a deliberate random stretcher bond coursing rendered with a cementitious, organic paint - an application from KEIM Mineral Silicate systems. The combination of a Corobrik De Hoop reject facebrick, and the organic silicate Keim application was chosen to provide a ‘weathered look’, in-keeping with the design intent. In addition, the client wanted a durable façade which would require low maintenance. The silver wash provided by KEIM, and applied as the top coat over the rendered application, gives the façade a shimmer which changes with the façade with the light of day. The façade materials chosen for public areas on the ground floor are a combination of full height glazing, with high thermal performance to provide the transparency and positive interface between exterior and interior spaces with the public realm. To improve thermal performance, Sunergy clear glass was selected for the ground floor, and Sunergy grey for the guest rooms which also provides sun control. The desired effect was the industrial effect of ‘crittal shopfronts’, which meant that the aluminium profiles had to be as narrow as possible and the window panes are smaller dimensioned than huge glass panels. Design The ground floor promotes an active and trans- parent edge which opens up to the pedestrianised 32 No 6 Silo