Located on Oxford Road in the heart of busy Lansdowne, the hub of student life for thousands of Bournemouth University’s students, a beautiful seventeen-story student accommodation is designed by Intersect Architects. Skyline, as the building is named, is one of the tallest developments in the area and draws on the powerful advantages of stone wool as a versatile, non-combustible insulation and cladding material, capable of providing excellent aesthetic, fire safety and thermal benefits.
A beautiful student accommodation
The eye-catching building consists of 430 beds in a mixture of cluster flats and studios and also features a common room and reception area at ground floor, a sky lounge on floors 16 and 17, and a sky garden on the roof with amazing panoramic views out to sea and inland. Aesthetically, Intersect sought to create a bold, striking finish for Skyline, reflecting the youth, energy and vibrancy of its occupants. This exciting design vision would also be a fitting match for the size and scale of this sleek and very prominent building that’s also indicative of the potential and aspiration of its inhabitants.
Firesafe cladding for a high-rise building
From a technical perspective, and with Skyline exceeding 18m in height, fire safety was, of course, a key priority. The insulation and cladding also had an important role to play in helping Skyline meet the challenging energy performance credentials needed to achieve the BREEAM ‘Very Good’ standard.
After attending a joint ROCKWOOL and Rockpanel CPD on “Fire Safety of Buildings above 18m – Designing out risks” in November 2017, Intersect specified non-combustible Rockpanel Chameleon A2 boards from Rockpanel for the exterior cladding and ROCKWOOL insulation.
The Rockpanel Chameleon boards feature a special crystal effect layer which change colour within a specified purple, green and blue colour range, depending on natural daylight conditions and the viewing angle as people move around the building. This eye-catching, ever-changing effect delivers on Intersect’s design objectives, bringing the entire building to life. The surface of the Chameleon boards constantly seems to change colour in striking contrast with the mushroom colour of the unclad concrete elevations. Rockpanel have for the very first time also supplied the Chameleon boards in a special Matt finish to help meet Intersect’s aesthetic facade specification.
Vibrant home for Bournemouth University students
“Skyline is a confident, inspirational and vibrant home for Bournemouth University students,” says Andrew Scott of Intersect Architects. “The Matt Chameleon cladding from Rockpanel is an important and influential component in this effect. We’re delighted with its colour-changing performance and longevity that will remain unaffected by changes in temperature or humidity. Equally, because both the cladding and insulation are made from stone wool, the building and its occupants benefit from a thermally well-insulated, non-combustible solution that helps to keep them warm, comfortable and safe.”
