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Hilltop Primary School, Airdrie

Project Name: Hilltop Primary School, Airdrie

Project Category: Education

Project Type: New Build

Product Supplied: 10mm Parklex

Product Colour: Copper

Fixing System: Secret Adhesive Fix SikaTack

 

VIVALDA Services:

Technical – VIVALDA provided Parklex samples as well as visited site multiple times to provide technical support, plus all boards were optimised by  for maximum yield and minimum wastage.

Fabrication – The panels were cut in house using beam saws.

Delivery – The bulk of the material was delivered in 2 phases with a further smaller delivery for additional areas.

As well as accommodating the newly merged academic in-take of Dunrobin and Petersburn primaries, the building also needed to include a nursery and a language and communication support centre. Adjacent to the former Dunrobin Primary School building, which was demolished to make way for additional car parking and a new sports pitch, the newly opened Hilltop Primary is turning heads and winning awards, thanks to its eye-catching tower and modern external and internal cladding.

The iconic school building has won Best New Build Project at the 2020 Roofing, Cladding and Insulation (RCI) Magazine awards, which are held every year to recognize excellence and innovation in construction. Highlighting the Hilltop Primary, the judges said: “This project has a unique, drum shaped frontage that creates a strong and architecturally diverse structure. It follows the modern school design and has been very well executed.”

Boasting an imposing rounded front, the striking effect is created using 10mm copper-effect Parklex cladding. William Barlow, branch manager at Vivalda Scotland, said: “This was a technically challenging project given the fact that the sustainable wood cladding was curved on-site to create such a stunning effect. Credit should go to Glasgow’s Reid Roof who

developed the solution using aluminum T profiles with an aluminum flat plate to construct a ‘mould’ which was used to shape the cladding.

“Whilst the entire project at Hilltop school looks fantastic, one of its defining features is definitely the ‘drum’ section of the building, which contributed to its award-winning status. This unique elevation was achieved by the installer fabricating a bespoke backing substrate using the Nvelope rail system. This allowed the panels to be bonded utilising the Sika tack adhesive to create the curved panel effect. The panel used was the 10mm Parklex board in Copper finish. The material is manufactured in Spain and provides a very premium looking finish due to being produced from natural wood. “The most challenging aspect of the project was the use of Sika adhesive in Scotland’s bracing climate as it requires an ambient temperature of over 50c for at least eight hours, which is a rare meteorological phenomenon north of the border!”.

Stuart Parker, managing director of Morgan Sindall Construction in Scotland, said: “Delivering this kind of project requires open and early dialogue between every stakeholder involved. Careful consideration of how each former school’s identity can form part of the new establishment is all important. Involving pupils in the design of the new school uniform was a great touch and we were delighted to play our part in that by providing the ties to mark the project’s completion.”

This was a technically challenging project given the fact that the sustainable wood cladding was curved on-site to create such a stunning effect. Credit should go to Glasgow’s Reid Roof who developed the solution using aluminum T profiles with an aluminum flat plate to construct a ‘mould’ which was used to shape the cladding.