Winter Gardens Facade Combination Insights

T’is the season for facades used in unique combination, two textures of ceramic cladding combined with waterjet cut detailing alongside EWI, have created a strong visual identity for an academic institution at the historic Winter Gardens in Weston-Super-Mare.

Part of a multi-million-pound regeneration project of the pavilion, designed in 1924 by town planner Thomas Mawson and town surveyor Harry Brown, the Winter Gardens has become home to the Weston College, one of the top Further Education colleges in the UK.

Aliva was briefed to create a facade combination that paid homage to the Winter Gardens pavilion’s classic art deco design, while looking to the future, as Weston College seeks to attract new students with an academic proposition spanning GCSEs, A Levels, T Levels and over 50 different types of apprenticeship, through to Higher Education with degrees.

Ceramic cladding presented a timeless facade solution, elegant and in-keeping with the pavilion’s architecture and the design of a classic British sea side location.

Pivotal architectural detailing on the project includes the effect of a floating cube above the entrance to the college to bring aspects of new build and the historic pavilion’s refurbishment together.

Two distinct ceramic cladding colours and textures created standout detailing on the Winter Gardens project.

Aliva’s white Lappato tiles, a ceramic with a semi-polished finish, created the aesthetic for the floating cube, complemented by dark grey Bocciardato tiles used for the lower area/ground floor. Bocciardato tiles have a brush-hammered finish, creating a rough stone appearance.

The ‘Winter Gardens’ lettering on the cube was formed from two layers of ceramic, with a water jet used to cut out the wording in the front tile, making the North elevation a visible and recognisable landmark from street level.

Used in combination, 300sqm in two ceramic finishes created exceptional contrast, not just in colour but surface. The tiles were supplied in 10.5mm thickness to suit undercut KEIL anchors as part of our ALI-S system.

Ceramic cladding is one of the strongest materials for facade solutions, with a range of thicknesses, panel sizes and weights possible, as a complement to these features it also resists frost, fire and scratching.

Graceful, sophisticated ceramic solutions like ours allow architects to push the boundaries of finish and texture even further, ceramic tiles can be specified to look like stone but are much lighter.

The sleek ceramic cladding was paired with a crisp white External Wall Insulation system (900sqm) incorporating 120mm and 220mm of EPS insulation with a silicone top coat.

The combination of EWI in this facade blend has contributed to the college’s thermal efficiency, making the combination a sustainable facade solution too.

BBA certified EWI incorporating Expanded Polystyrene or Mineral Wool add a sustainable contribution to projects that blend seamlessly alongside rainscreen cladding feature detailing.

System pairings to complete cladding collectives, facade blends are creating significant cut-through in the architectural solutions market.