Maurice Wilkes Building, St John’s Innovation Park, Cambridge
February 2019

Kawneer was chosen by Barber Casanovas Ruffles Architects as the preferred aluminium curtain walling system supplier for a £15 million building on St John’s Innovation Park in Cambridge.

The UK manufacturer’s AA110 zone-drained curtain walling with 65mm sightlines and two types of commercial entrance doors – AA720s on all elevations and heavy-duty series 190s for the main entrance – have been used on the Maurice Wilkes Building.

The curtain walling “windows” were set out on a 1.5m grid to allow future flexibility to the tenants’ fit-outs.
The 65,000ft2 building has five floors of flexible office accommodation topped by a partially-covered roof terrace.

The glazing design responds to the building’s orientation, requiring views into and out of it, as well as responding to the building’s external design and the function of the internal spaces. Kawneer systems interface with the cladding throughout as the windows are punch hole-style in a trabeated design form.

Constructed in 16 months by Vinci Construction, using a reinforced concrete frame with infill structural framing system and rectangular panels of bronze-coloured rainscreen cladding, the black and silver coloured Kawneer aluminium systems were installed during the contract by a team of operatives from approved dealer APiC UK.

Andrew Finn, senior sales and estimating technician at APiC UK, said: “The curtain walling screens with differing vertical and horizontal projecting face caps complement the adjacent materials. In addition, the main reception area has a double-height curtain walling façade which provides a stunning entrance to the building.”

The building achieved the accreditation of BREEAM “Very good” and boasts a low air tightness value. It secured a majority of tenant pre-lets off plan and is almost fully occupied.

www.kawneer.co.uk