Cost of copper

The Deptford Lounge – wrapped in a perforated skin of Nordic Royal golden copper alloy – demonstrates a new typology of school and community building, and gives a civic focus to the local community. Developed from an initial brief for a state-of-the-art public library and a new building for the relocated Tidemill Primary School, Pollard Thomas Edwards architects’ (PTEa) scheme creates a highly innovative mix of co-located uses on a single site. The complex houses facilities shared between the new primary school and the whole community, via the Deptford Lounge library, including a rooftop sports pitch, a flexible suite of assembly spaces and a dining hall and kitchen. For the golden wrapping applied to the facades, rigid... More

The heart of Teesside University’s campus in Middlesbrough is defined by Nordic Royal golden copper alloy, enveloping the new Teaching and Conference Building – known as ‘The Curve’. The Curve forms part of Austin-Smith:Lord’s competition-winning design for a unique environment at the centre of the University. It includes an extensive public realm, innovative lighting, a living wall with giant LED screen and landscaping across the newly pedestrianized campus. This new ‘Campus Heart’ aims to rival any new university in the country or indeed Europe. The new building’s teaching block and 200-seat auditorium are linked and expressed by a curved façade that wraps around the north, east and... More

Brushed Nordic Royal copper alloy fins help define a major redevelopment that completes a historic square in Scotland’s capital. Comprising 9,300m2 of ‘Grade A’ office space, 6,500m2 of leisure and retail, and a suite of luxury apartments, the redevelopment occupies most of the southern edge of St Andrew Square in the heart of Edinburgh’s Georgian ‘New Town’ World Heritage Site. Designed by Hoskins Architects and CDA, the scheme involves a massing strategy of projections and recesses, reflecting the scale of historic plots on this side of the square. A series of metal and stone fins enables the complex to be very ‘open’ when viewed directly, taking advantage of the extraordinary long views an... More

For London’s commuters, travelling on the Victorian railway viaducts running along the south bank of the River Thames creates a moving stage set, revealing exciting perspectives of the urban fabric. The latest addition to this scene is Faraday House, clad in golden copper alloy – a golden bolt of energy announcing the regeneration of the iconic Battersea Power Station. Faraday House is a residential building forming part of the first exciting chapter in the regeneration of Battersea Power Station. Sitting on the banks of the River Thames and adjacent to Battersea Park, the building occupies a prime site at the junction of the north-south rail line into Victoria Station and the Thames – and its design responds to this uniq... More

The project’s designers – Antwerp based import.export Architecture – were inspired by associations of ‘the Moon’ with the Apollo 11 Lunar Module and its crumpled golden metal underside. This aesthetic is presented as a contemporary reflection on the intricate stone tracery of the neighbouring medieval cathedral tower, although being achieved within a modest budget. The architects worked with specialist fabricators Ridder experimenting with pressing and folding flat metal over a blade, resulting in a series of gentle creases – almost, but not quite, 3-D. Then, seven different designs of golden copper alloy panels were produced using press moulds, each with folds running across at various angles and intens... More

Within its shopping centre location the ‘Royal Design’ project is insular but surrounded by many larger and taller buildings. Our design concept aims to create contrast and respond powerfully to these surroundings. Because of the central location of the building, the key consideration was that all sides of the scheme matter: walking around the building will reveal different architectural experiences, ranging from minimalistic façades to complex architectural forms. The parking lot frontage is open with extensive glazing in black frames following the sharp angles. The side elevations are calmer but still exciting with irregular windows continuing the black edged theme. All the facades and sloping roofs are clad in golden... More

Peckham Library won Britain's most celebrated architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in November 2000. The brief called for a building of architectural merit which would bring prestige to the borough and engender a sense of ownership and pride for the building by local people. Will Alsop created a building of unique appearance which satisfied both criteria, comprising innovatory solutions to design problems, creating working, archive and meeting spaces of genuine delight and stimulating appearance. Suspending the main reading room on a cantilevered plane allowed the creation of a new public space below the soffit. Within this room, 'pods' contain meeting rooms and independent collections, with workstations clustered below. The br... More

The journey down a winding road and thru a pine tree forest ends at the Buisson Residence. Situated on a grass knoll and commanding views of Lake Anna in central Virginia, the house emerges as a long, white painted brick wall with a copper clad volume cantilevered above the wall. The primary organizational elements are two “L” shaped brick walls connected by a glass enclosed bridge. Mahogany clad walls combine with the smaller “L” to provide a service volume while glass walls combine with the larger “L” to create the primary living spaces and to provide southern and western views toward the lake. The experience of arrival and the wall are intertwined as the wall establishes a threshold between the pine forest and views toward the lake... More

The architects behind the competition entry for Helsinki Music Centre, ”a mezza voce”, were guided by the view that new development should enhance the integrity and calm general expression of the area. The building has been integrated in the coordinate system of its surroundings making two sides of the main mass of the building parallel with Finlandia Hall and the Parliament House, while the tallest part of the main mass continues on the level of the east wall surface of Karamzin Park. The tallest parts have also been located as close to the green zone as possible to continue the impression of public buildings in a park. The transparent glass side of the Music Centre displays the functions of the building and at the same time connects it wi... More

Brass cladding helps to define the strong architectural character of a major new research centre in Midlothian, Scotland, housing 500 scientists and research staff. The design of the Roslin Institute building by architects HDR, develops from a plan form based on the shape of a pair of chromosomes, with coloured panels representing the DNA 'fins' which link the office and research laboratory blocks together. Architect Marc Edmondson commented: “The architectural treatment of the principal facades was the subject of serious focus. Brass was selected in dialogue with the client organisations. The choice was based upon how the patination would improve with age, adding to the statement of permanence that it would give this landmark buildi... More

The clients, one of Costa Rica’s oldest and most prestigious construction companies, requested a new addition on a corner lot to their existing 30+ year old building and an integral redesign of the interiors.
They wanted a building that expressed both solidity and novelty to symbolize their corporate structure formed by three original founders and five young junior partners. Thus, the building consists of two main volumes: the existing two-story building and the new one, both supported on a strong first floor clad in concrete tilesrepresenting V&Js soundness, and to symbolize the new “young blood”.This level is dedicated to parking.  Above, a lightweight second and third floors clad in prepatinated copper sheathing, a material that... More

The project for the Heineken bar and corporate offices of Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Heineken Mexico located in a big house in the Polanco area of Mexico City —catalogued as historic patrimony by INBA— was selected through a competition organized by the client. It was very important that the original and main architectonics features of the residence were preserved and at the same time incorporate, in a very contemporary trend, the brand image by creating the office areas and the Bar House for special guests and tastings. The main facade with classic ornaments remained untouched. The original partitions of the perimeter wall were partially covered with shade glass that gives privacy and shows a glimpse of the house architecture. A big copper m... More

Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery has re-opened in March 2012 following an extensive £3 million refurbishment and the addition of a new East Wing by Hugh Broughton Architects. Clad with ʻgoldʼ shingles which hint at the museumʼs collection of ʻtreasuresʼ on display inside, the new East Wing provides the museum with a reinvigorated look making it the cultural focus for the town centre. Housing a collection of over 600,000 artifacts and specimens that are outstanding in their diversity and quality, Maidstone Museum forms the largest mixed collection in Kent and one of the largest in the South-East of England. Hugh Broughton Architectsʼ 2006 RIBA competition-winning architectural scheme transforms the museumʼs display, storage and v... More

Conceived as a shrine, securing its valuable content behind solid sheets of Aurubis' Nordic Royal alloy, stands the museum for Sven Harry Karlsson next to Vasaparken in Stockholm. Karlsson is the founder and owner of Folkhem, a housing company operating mainly in and around Stockholm. The museum fuses his life-long passions for art and architecture. The double functions of the building – housing and museum – work independently of each other, with separate entrances to Eastmanvägen. The ground floor houses galleries, a café and exhibition rooms. The exhibition spaces are placed in the basement and core, with housing in the perimeter on the upper floors. The building in crowned with a penthouse, where the Karlsson collection, primarily foc... More