48 York Street

A stone's throw from the Ulster University Campus lies the 11-storey high student accommodation building on the corner of York Street, in Belfast.

Having faced significant design challenges with varying heights of buildings already on York Street (such as the 2-storey residential dwelling directly next door), the residential block's design now blends into the street's skyline - solved by staggering the height of the block, only reaching its full height in the middle of the building, to fit in with the cityscape.

With 307 studios of varying sizes available for student accommodation, the building also has communal areas including a podium garden, yoga studio, games room, informal study areas, as well as 3 ground floor retail units.

Challenge

Leading roofing and cladding company Thornton Roofing took on the building exterior works, including the installation of the stunning façade, opting to use Swisspearl fibre cement panels on the façade face, fixing the entire system (including the façade support), back to a mixture of SFS and concrete framing.

Solution

Thornton Roofing approached us for a technical calculation on the façade support system used behind the panels, which we provided alongside expert advice on which solution would be best for their specific application.

Using our SPIDI Max brackets, rails, and DrillFast A2/304 stainless steel fasteners to suit, Thornton Roofing were able to install the support system securely and efficiently - the SPIDI Max one bracket design leads to faster install on-site, saving time and money at both design and procurement stage.

(With thanks to Thornton Roofing for the image)

"Working with Fixfast on this project was both cost-effective and straightforward. We dealt mainly with the Newry branch, who were able to quickly provide the helping hand system within the desired timeframe and keep our workflow going, allowing us to complete the project on time." - Gareth Simpson MCIOB MIoR, Contracts Manager at Thornton Roofing