Arval - The secret of schools success
A secret-fix roofing system from the Arval division of Arcelor
Construction UK has helped architects Batterham Matthews Design
produce a distinctive, elegant new dance, drama studio and sports
centre for a Bristol secondary school.
The design brief was to produce a four-badminton court sports hall
integrated with a sixth-form building for 275 students at Ashton
Park Secondary School within the Green Belt and the historical
landscape of Ashton Court House.
Procured using NOF and Targeted Capital funding, the project had to
stick to strict budgetary constraints although the client, Bristol
City Council, was anxious it should have the best possible quality
of design and materials that the budget allowed.
To achieve a distinctive, non-industrial look, project architect
George Batterham designed the main 10-metre high hall with an
elegant curved roof profile created with 1,200m² of Arval‘s Tacdeck
508 system.
This system is specifically designed for long, low-pitched roof
slopes where conventional profiles are often unsuitable. Its unique
secret clip fixing system means no fasteners penetrate the external
skin, thus ensuring a completely weathertight construction.
The building comprises the main sports hall, with its 40-metre
radius curved roof, with single-storey ancillary extensions housing
dance studios and classrooms extending outwards under straight
mono-pitched roofs that are also clad with Tacdeck 508. All the
roofs on the building are in 0.66mm steel Tacdeck sheeting with a
Hairexcel Granite Silver finish offering a 30 year guarantee period
to decision to repaint.
The roof design was chosen to give a clean, uncluttered appearance
not only outside but also from inside the building. To achieve this,
Arval supplied its long-span structural tray system to provide a
plank effect appearance to the ceiling soffit, spanning horizontally
between the main structural beams and eliminating the need for steel
purlins.
The structural trays, in white Hairplus 25 polyester finish and
measuring 600mm wide and 150mm deep were supplied in 10-metre
lengths, sufficient to span over two bays of roof beams each.
Installed longitudinally underneath the Tacdeck roof, the trays
perform several vital functions, said Russell Harris, technical
officer with Arval.
“As a structural element, the trays replace the clutter of
supporting purlins and actually give lateral stability to the main
steelwork frame, what is known in engineers’ terms as a stressed
skin or diaphragm design. These particular trays are also perforated
to absorb sound energy.”
This perforated option is increasingly specified to provide acoustic
solutions in buildings, particularly in the educational sector.
Perforated liners can play an important role towards complying with
“Approved Document E “the building regulation that deals with
“Resistance to the Passage of sound”, explained Mr Harris.
“The clear soffit also has a practical benefit in a sports hall –
shuttlecocks and balls won’t get stuck up there!” he added.
The finished roof structure comprises the structural tray on the
inner surface, followed by a 30mm thick acoustic mineral fibre
board, a vapour barrier, thermal insulation to meet the required
U-value, and finally the Tacdeck 508 barrel roof.
No special equipment was required to curve the Tacdeck sheets, said
Mr Harris: “It is self-curving under its own weight to a radius of
about 30 metres. This roof is only 40 metre radius”.
The Tacdeck 508 sheets were supplied in single lengths of 28 metres
to span from eaves to eaves and were installed by PB Cook Roofing
for main contractors HW Pollard & Sons.
“They were simply laid in position and clipped into place – it’s an
easy system to install,” said Mr Harris.
Email:
info@arval-construction.co.uk
Arundel Jones Associates Ltd
Hill Farm, Linton Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME17 4AL
Tel : 01622 745333
news@buildingdesign.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales No. 07334149
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