John Brash Western Red Cedar shingles have been used on the domed roofs of an innovative new sports academy in Scunthorpe which is one of the first major UK leisure projects to use this free-form organic building design.
North Lincolnshire Council launched a design contest for the project with the aim of creating a landmark building to spearhead the regeneration of Scunthorpe. The competition was organised through the RIBA Competitions Office in association with the Landscape Institute and attracted 45 entries. Judges took the opinion of local people into account when they selected the winner from a final shortlist.
The winning design team was led by Andrew Wright Associates, and included S&P Architects Ltd. The project has been partially funded by Yorkshire Forward and will cost £21m. The building has been named The Pods and comprises a series of linked timber geodesic domed structures which will appear to emerge naturally from the landscape.
Calculations showed that the lightweight yet strong nature of John Brash Western Red Cedar Shingles was one of the few ways of creating the very shallow angles towards the top of the domes. Masonry based materials may have been too heavy, requiring additional internal support structures to the domes that would have compromised the design purity of the building.
The Pods will house a 25m swimming pool, a learner pool with a large spectator area, as well as changing rooms, a sports hall, dance studio and 90-station gym. The centre will also contain a caf, crche, meeting rooms and offices.
Project Architect Ron Wallwork of S&P Architects said: "The domed roofs are in different materials to give a variety of finishes, and John Brash Western Red Cedar Shingles were specified for two of them because they are a lightweight, strong and naturally sustainable material."
The Pods is aiming towards achieving a BREEAM Excellent rating and will include a biomass boiler, and grey water recycling plant to feed the green roofs and the water systems in the park. The project is due for completion Summer 2011.
The design combines glulam timber members and galvanised steel nodes in a novel organic domed shell structure. Each timber member is of a different length and links to the nodes at different angles. A secondary timber triangular structure infills the primary structure.
Main contractor on the project was Derbyshire-based Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd and the roofing contractor was Advanced Roofing, also based in Derbyshire.
Managing Director of Advanced Roofing Richard Clapp said: "Our installers are always confident when working with John Brash products as they are of consistently high quality, backed up with excellent customer service. The commercial and technical teams also provide us with really helpful technical advice."
Western Red Cedar Shingles and Shakes from John Brash are light and extremely durable, having a minimum 40-year service life, resistance to decay and a high strength to weight ratio that provides flexibility in design. Their natural thermal qualities have also led to Shingles & Shakes being specified extensively by architects and building designers.
John Brash has been marketing timber for over 100 years. It is BS EN ISO 9001:2008 accredited and only sources timber from sustainable and well managed forests that have either FSC (Forestry Stewardship Certification) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) schemes.
The company supplies a wide range of sustainable timber building solutions including Shingles and Shakes, anti-slip decking, roofing battens and carcassing.
For more information on Western Red Cedar Shingles and Shakes from John Brash, call: 01427 675588. Alternatively, visit the website at: www.johnbrash.co.uk
