Coppetts Wood House is a housing development at the Royal Free Hospital Trust in North West London. The development provides high quality housing for Trust staff offering 141 units of self -contained studio flats, one and two bedroom apartments.
Coppetts Wood House more than doubles the accommodation provided in the old accommodation blocks it replaces. It is the second of three housing projects undertaken by calfordseaden at the Royal Free Hospital, working with its partners Newlon Housing Association and desgn and build contractor United House Limited. The other projects were refurbishments of existing buildings. Domestic and engineered design vision Roger Day, Architect and Partner at calfordseaden says, “Our design vision for Coppetts Wood House was to create a warm domestic resonance to the project whilst reflecting and complementing the engineered finish of the main hospital’s buildings. There was also a strong emphasis on the sustainability and cost efficiency angles within the project.” Roger Day explains, “We wanted to use a material which would help us achieve the ‘warm’, domestic design vision, so we had selected cedar cladding, but the maintenance required to keep this in its original condition was far too onerous and costly for our client. So we searched for a low maintenance product that we could use instead of cedar, but which wouldn’t require revised planning permission. Easy to assemble and install After comparing a number of products we decided that Rockpanel Lines ticked all our boxes and more. Rockpanel offered a low maintenance, cost efficient choice for us and our client. The Rockpanel boards were simple to use and easy to assemble and install, so we were able to move forward with the project quickly avoiding a planning hold up, and saving both time and money. Rockpanel Lines also gave us the correct panel sizes, so there was no wastage, and it had all the quality and fire certifications we required.”
Environmental credentials Calfordseadon also recognised that Rockpanel’s environmental credentials were second to none. Roger Day continues, “At calfordseaden, and within the social housing market, there is a huge emphasis on the ‘sustainability’ aspect of our projects. Rockpanel is produced through an efficient process using basalt rock, a highly sustainable natural resource. This was a key factor in our decision to go with Rockpanel, along with its durability and 100% recyclablity.” The Coppetts Wood House development was completed in Summer 2008 and staff from the Royal Free Hospital are now enjoying living in their new homes. HRH Prince Andrew officially opened Coppetts Wood House on 20 October 2008. Says Roger Day, “Rockpanel offers a highly flexible product through which cutting edge design vision can be achieved. Moreover, its durability means that it cannot be surpassed as long-term solution to high quality cladding. We are delighted with the finished development at Coppetts Wood and the design impetus given to the project by Rockpanel, successfully bringing together the domestic and engineered vision we wanted to achieve.” “We were was also impressed with the wide range of Rockpanel products available which offer the architect a variety of finishes and effects to meet the design vision.
Superlative material offers longevity The Practice is now using Rockpanel products in a number of other projects across a wide range of sectors and locations in the UK. Day concludes, “Rockpanel is a superlative cladding material in its own right and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to other professionals, not as a cheap alternative to timber, but as a quality, flexible, sustainable and cost-efficient product which offers clients design longevity. Its benefits include that it is as durable as stone, workable as wood, easy to use, weather resistant, fire safe, fully recyclable and low maintenance. We believe it is a very cost effective choice for any project.”
