Elliptical column casings at the Yorkshire Event Centre

Elliptical column casings at the Yorkshire Event Centre

Contour were appointed to manufacture and install a series of 5 elliptical column casings for the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate.

The Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate is one of the UK’s leading exhibition and events venues. The Centre is owned by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society who recently invested in a £11.5m project for a new purpose built hall. The new hall external entrance area included 5 imposing structural columns composed of Circular Hollow Sections (CHS), with each column nearly 8m tall. Each required encasement not only for aesthetic purposes but also to protect drainage pipework.

The design team at Contour liaised extensively with the contractors and the project architects, and using their considerable track record in column casing projects, developed a bespoke frame system. This could be fixed around the CHS columns and to which the casings could then be securely attached.

The column casings were manufactured from 3mm thick aluminium, with each produced in 3 sections, each stacked one on top of the other. An internal butt strap ensured that the sections aligned correctly with each other and provided a ‘snug’ fit, reducing the likelihood of any movement of the casing sections.

An inner collar was installed at the top and bottom of each column casing, with a 6mm thick acoustic foam internally applied to minimise any potential wind generated reverberation. Cut outs were then made on site to allow for connection of the hall’s roof guttering, to rain water pipe work in the columns.

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