A high specification glass and aluminium façade has been created using advanced curtain walling solutions from Wicona for a £24 million regeneration project overlooking the River Clyde in Glasgow.
The scheme is the new landmark administrative headquarters for Police Scotland, providing Grade ‘A’ office accommodation for more than 1,000 officers and civilian staff.
Designed by Cooper Cromar Architects and built by Morgan Sindall, Riverside East forms part of Clyde Gateway – Scotland’s largest and most ambitious regeneration project which is delivering a physical, social and economic transformation on either side of the Clyde in the east end of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.
Constructed to the highest possible technical and environmental specifications, the building’s design had to respond to specific operational and security requirements and be both open and welcoming to the local community. It is targeted to achieve a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating.
Riverside East has a bold and transparent appearance, created using around 5,000m2 of Wicona’s WICTEC 50 structurally glazed curtain walling. This system was used for all elevations and allows impressive waterfront views.
Fabricated and installed by Glassolutions Installation, the highly glazed façade provides an effective contrast to bands of dark grey aluminium spandrel panels and white stone-clad colonnades at ground floor level. The WICTEC 50 SG curtain walling is sufficiently robust to support large spans of glass up to 3.2m high. The structurally glazed façade features 150mm deep caps for the vertical and horizontal profiles, creating a ‘picture frame’ appearance for the vision areas.
According to Iain Smith, Project Architect at Cooper Cromar Architects, “Wicona’s WICTEC 50 structural glazing worked really well for this scheme. It met our specification requirements and gave us the benefit of a versatile façade solution with exceptional aesthetics. We are impressed with the finished building and would definitely consider using Wicona’s products for other projects.”
Mechanically actuated, top hung concealed opening vents were inserted into the curtain wall at first floor level to provide natural ventilation whilst maintaining a seamless, flush finish. The glazing systems were all polyester powder coated in dual colours – silver internally and black externally and glazed in clear, high performance toughened solar control glass.
Wicona also provided more than 1,600m2 of structural glazing for the internal atria using the WICTEC 60FP system to deliver a 30-minute fire rating. Also available in a 50mm profile, this option is fully compatible and indistinguishable from the standard WICTEC 50 and 60 curtain walling for a uniform appearance but provides additional fire protection for façades, stairwells, and glazed roofs.
Engineered in Germany, Wicona’s WICTEC curtain walling suite has been used extensively for complex façade projects in both the UK and across the world. It has a wide range of structural aluminium profiles to accommodate vertical, angled, sloped and faceted glazing for optimum creative freedom and performance. There are options for enhanced security, fire protection and bullet resistance for visual consistency across a building envelope.
Client: Clyde Gateway Developments Ltd
Architects: Cooper Cromar Architects
Main contractor: Morgan Sindall
Aluminium façade systems: Wicona
Façade development/fabrication: Glassolutions Installation
