Durability, safety and aesthetics needed to work together for the Viking House project. With the refurbishment nestled among conventionally built brick buildings there was a need for a contemporary look that mirrored the local vernacular.
Viking House is a managed student accommodation development at the University of Lincoln. Made up of three five-storey buildings and standing 20m tall, it was designed to reflect the university’s continuing progress. Converted from several repurposed properties, the design of the buildings was in contrast to others in the largely traditional area of Brayford Wharf.
One of the main challenges was the University’s desire to complete the project within only six months in order to accommodate the new intake of students at the start of the 2018/19 term, but without compromising on safety.
MechSlip has a design that allows specifiers and architects to create distinctive façades thanks to the flexibility of different sizes of brick slips and choice of multiple colours and textures, allowing the development to fit seamlessly into its traditional surrounding; Ibstock’s Leicester Red was the brick of choice. The system works with slip-cutting technology that allows the vast majority of stock and wire cut bricks to be mechanically fixed into horizontal rails at flexible heights, making the entire design and installation process simple, from concept to completion. This allows architects and specifiers to use brick to maintain the integrity of their design, whilst the efficiency and versatility of the mechanical fixed system opens up a whole raft of options for integration with modern methods of construction.
As well as offering the reassurance provided by a mechanically-fixed design, MechSlip has been rigorously tested to the Centre for Window & Cladding Technology (CWCT) standards, for wind resistance, water tightness and impact resistance. The result is that it eliminates the weather dependency of traditional building methods without compromising on the choice of brick finish.
Furthermore, the system is rated A1 non-combustible to EN13501-1 standards making it the ideal choice for a modern high-rise structure like Viking House.
