A Guide To Specifying Copper Rainscreen

Here we look at the heritage, application and benefits of TECU copper as a modern rainscreen cladding material.
Copper is one of the most versatile, attractive and adaptable architectural materials available. It has been used for centuries for roofing, cladding and rainwater systems and remains as sought after today as it always has been. Recent innovations in how the material is presented now makes its benefits even more accessible to rainscreen cladding projects.

KME TECU CLASSIC is 99.9% pure copper, like all our TECU pure copper materials, and develops an attractive Verdigris patina over time that is highly sought after. This beautiful aesthetic is sometimes seen on old churches, chapels and cathedrals.
A great example of this is the Grade II* listed Square Chapel in Halifax The oxidised matt brown surface, shown here, illustrates the maturing process of TECU CLASSIC as it evolves within the patination / oxidisation process of copper. These lighter and darker shades of natural brown hues will develop into the Verdigris green patina that is so typical of aged copper.

In fact, building designers and their clients’ are so drawn to this natural, aged beauty of copper that they are specifying our TECU® Oxid material. This is another pure copper material that uses an innovative process to speed up the natural oxidation process before the cladding panels arrive on site.

We also offer TECU® PATINA copper material. This is patinated Verdigris green on one side and means that your client doesn’t have to wait decades for the natural oxidation process to achieve the copper aesthetic. Advances in the oxidation process now allow a wider diversity of green Verdigris patinations and some alternatives with blue and red tones.TECU Classic Coated offers a designer an alternative to the natural aging process of copper. The base copper material is coated with a clear lacquer that stops air and moisture connecting with the coppers surface and prevents the patinating process.

Chester Storyhouse is an excellent example of how an older building can be brought right up to date, in terms of aesthetics and performance, with rainscreen cladding system. The original 1930’s Odeon in Chester, a Grade II Listed building, had fallen into disrepair and disuse, and the owners were therefore looking for a solution to bring it up to date. The completed refurbishment now showcases the ways in which advances in rainscreen façade materials, such as our Proteus HR system, can help designers reimagine and repurpose much-loved buildings, making them appeal to a new generation of users.

Linking with the past

Storyhouse in Chester is brand new £37m theatre, library, cinema and arts centre that was transformed using our TECU copper rainscreen cladding system. The original listed 1930s Odeon cinema building now houses an 800-seat auditorium, a 150-seat studio theatre, a restaurant, two bars and a 100-seat boutique cinema. Clad entirely in TECU copper material, the studio theatre, which sits on top of the main Storyhouse auditorium, creates a striking, pavilion-like silhouette on the Chester skyline. Set against the glass fins below, it creates a striking, modern aesthetic that sits comfortably with the original brick façade.

Chester Storyhouse is the largest public building in Chester, and is positioned between the Victorian grade II listed town hall and the medieval grade I-listed cathedral, highlighting what an important role this building plays in the city’s historical development. Located in such a sensitive location created additional challenges for the architects on this project, and was one of the reasons why they specified TECU copper, because it weather over time to create a beautiful patina.

Bennetts Associates, the project architects, specified Proteus HR TECU copper material for the studio theatre. This was chosen as a nod to the original 1930s art deco cinema, and because of the material’s ability to transition to an oxidised green that will echo the appearance of the original Odeon roof.

The designers also took into account the fact that copper has been used in architecture for centuries. As a material, it can also be used to form complex shapes, which was helped by our cladding panels having a honeycomb core. This makes them lightweight yet extremely rigid, and therefore a logical choice for the projecting studio theatre, which is now the most visually prominent element of the revitalised building. This striking design cuts across the green-tinged, cast-glass panels and brickwork, breaking up and compartmentalising the new, old and refurbished elements.

Chester Storyhouse has been designed to the highest standards for audience comfort and sightlines. The same rigour has been applied to the rainscreen cladding, both visually and technically. The copper panels are fitted to rigid vertical mullions that are anchored to the backing wall with adjustable support brackets. The façade panels have a honeycomb core, which provides them with strength, rigidity and a lightweight nature, all of which contributed to minimising the carbon footprint of the redevelopment.

Durable

As well as being attractive, TECU copper materials add a protective layer to the cladding panel. This creates a long lasting, low maintenance façade, which evolves and matures over time.

Sustainable

Similar to all our metal rainscreen façade systems, copper cladding can be recycled any number of times. That means it can be 100% recycled when the building reaches the end of its life.

Lightweight

Copper is a lightweight material and that makes it easy to transport and install on site as well as minimising weight loadings, reducing the need for high embodied energy building foundations. This useful characteristic is retained if you specify TECU copper rainscreen cladding on our Proteus HR system. That’s because the honeycomb core ensures the panels remain lightweight yet incredibly strong. Savings in material have a bearing on costs, too, and so honeycomb panel technology may give you more budgeting options. The honeycomb allows the use of a thin veneer of copper and reduces the tonnage of expensive base material while creating an optically flat panel surface, minimising light distortion, which has a tendency to draw the eye away from the natural beauty of the copper. Our investment in precision manufacturing creates tight radii at panel edges, carrying through this clean crisp façade aesthetic.

The TECU range of copper rainscreen cladding systems have the ability to give your design a completely unique and attractive appearance. The classic bright copper colour, which has always had the ability to engage people, will continue to keep on looking beautiful all the way through to it achieving its natural Verdigris patina. When it reaches that stage it is the stand-out cladding material and nothing comes close in terms of longevity and aesthetics. How quickly you want your building to achieve that timeless status is now up to you with our range of pre-oxidised TECU materials.