Students in Nottingham will be living in luxury after Sotech, a leading UK manufacturer of rainscreen and bespoke architectural fabrications, recently supplied products for the £42 million development of the new Chettles Yard student accommodation from Opal Properties.
The Lewis & Hickey Architects designed building incorporates a number of green features in both colour and design, including biomass boilers and rainwater harvesting, making it an extremely sustainable construction.
Overseen by main contractor Ocon, Sotech provided its Optima TFC system in Alucobond 500 silver and Anthracite grey for external application on the project. The Optima TFC system is extremely durable with low maintenance and easily demountable individual panels for replacement or inspection purposes. This makes it ideal for a student orientated project where robustness combined with a contemporary and stylish look is essential.
The three phase construction programme took 162 weeks to complete with Sotech providing products over all three phases. The building comprises of 1,063 student accommodation units across seven blocks, 19,000 ft2 of retail accommodation split into six units, a 15,000ft2 Magnet store and seven further light industrial/retail units on a 10 acre site.
Optima TFC has been developed as an economical alternative to a complete secret fix rainscreen. Whilst being the most economical rainscreen solution, requiring discreet fixings in the vertical panel recess, the engineering of the system retains the benefits of a drained and ventilated façade.
Superior manufacturing techniques ensure there is no build-up of metal thicknesses at the cruciform joint. Optima TFC is engineered to seamlessly integrate with all other building façade elements such as windows, doors and louvres and all fixings used in the systems are stainless steel.
John Egginton, Managing Director of Sotech said: “This extensive project saw Sotech return for three separate phases of construction and at each point our independently tested products were more than up to the job. It’s always a great pleasure to see our products used on a large scale and in this particular construction we’re hoping that many students for years to come will be able to enjoy the comfortable, safe and eye-catching accommodation that we’ve helped to deliver.”
