Chelleram Sports Complex VMZINC Roof

SIG Hard Metals supplied over 1500m2 of VMZINC Pigmento Red to this large new sports hall project. The finished result is a testament to the installer’s skill and experience, and to a reliable distributor with over 100 local branches nationwide.

Project: Chellaram Sports Complex
Client: Clifton College
Project Type: Education, Sports
Products Used: VMZINC Pigmento Red
Architects: Alec French Architects
Main Contractor: Speller Metcalfe
Specialist Roofing Contractor: Q&M Limited
Zinc: SIG Hard Metals
Location: Bristol
Completion Date: September 2024
Images: Speller Metcalfe

The sports complex is clad in over 1500m2 of zinc. Image: Speller Metcalfe

The Project

Chelleram Sports Complex is a multi-use sports hub owned by Clifton College, an independent school in Bristol which boasts 90 acres of international standard sports facilities.

The new building replaces a large inflatable sports dome on the same footprint, with multiple courts including netball, tennis, basketball and badminton. It also has an indoor bouldering wall, seating for over 200 people, changing facilities and storage.

Architects Alec French’s design harks back to the original domed sports hall with an elegant, curved form clad in beautiful VMZINC Pigmento Red supplied by SIG Hard Metals, part of SIG Roofing. The site is on green belt land so visual impact was important. A simple massing of hall and ancillary spaces brings the scale down at the entrances. A recessed ‘push space’ in the roof is waterproofed with single ply membrane. This clever design gives the impression that the building is entirely roofed in zinc.

Cladding a large building in Zinc

Main contractor Speller Metcalfe engaged specialist metal roofing contractor Q&M Limited to install over 1500m2 of zinc cladding to the end facades, fascias and eaves of the £7.9m project. With such a large amount of cladding (12.5 tonnes of metal), supply and delivery would be particularly important to get right, both for the critical path of the project, and for the installer.

Zinc is installed by skilled craftspeople, and it was also essential that the broad curved facades were consistently manufactured and installed to satisfy the client’s aesthetic requirements.

Implementing the project

Q&M Limited is based in Gloucestershire and established for over 30 years. The expertise of their installers shows in the finished cladding of Chellaram Sports Centre.

To reduce the oilcanning effect (the natural tendency of flat metal products to appear wavy or even distorted), the architects preferred to use narrower trays for the zinc cladding. These were cut to length offsite and then curved on site using Q&M’s own tray curving machine. By producing the curve on site, the installer could ensure that each tray sat snugly to the substrate, producing the high quality finish you can see in the images.

In discussion with the main contractor and architect, Q&M were also able to suggest how the cladding should be detailed. Whilst the majority is standing seam, Q&M recommended a contrasting flat lock detail to the fascias and reveals. This provides a smooth and attractive fan effect around the curved fascias, transitioning to horizontal seams in the reveals which works best across a smaller surface.

To reduce the initial financial impact of such a large quantity of metal, the VMZINC Pigmento Red was delivered to SIG Roofing’s local branch in Gloucester and then supplied to the contractor when needed.

Installation of the cladding began in February and completed in May 2024, with the building opening in September, with installers starting in the middle of the project and working out to the edges.

Q&M Ltd as a company are proud of the finished result and appreciated the support of SIG Hard Metals in getting the deliveries to work smoothly.

“The team at SIG did the best for us and were very helpful. The fact they could deliver from the local branch really made a difference to this project.”

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