Aliva is celebrating its second award win this month, after picking up a prestigious INCA award for its stunning work to transform the site of a 16th Century Shakespearean-era playhouse with an A1 accredited system.

Aliva was thrilled to receive the coveted trophy in the New Build EWI and Brick Effect Finish category, after providing a signature finish for Unite Students’ new student flagship property, located on the Middlesex Street Gyratory in the heart of Central London.

INCA judges said: “EWI and around 9,000 sqm of red, brown and cream brick slips have been used to great effect. Aliva have created a visually stunning building – a proper high-rise which looks like real brick but hides exceptional thermal properties. A truly impressive project and a worthy winner of the 2022 INCA Award for New Build EWI + Brick Effect Finish.”

Hayloft Point is the first Aliva project with RG Group. The site of a former 16th century Shakespearean-era playhouse, these 920 purpose-built much needed homes for students are in one of central London’s most popular areas, close to King’s College London.

The L-shaped building has a mix of 24-storey, 16-storey and 8-storey elements, with the tallest section occupying the southern part of the site. The accommodation also includes a performance and exhibition area, a cinema room, and common rooms with study facilities.

Driven by the layout, location and heritage of the site, the architect’s brief required a modern, neat finish complementary to the neighbouring area for this tall landmark building.

Aliva worked with architect Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson Ltd along with RG Group’s design team, to create a high-quality bespoke facade for the student accommodation that was mindful of surroundings but also provided a modern aesthetic. Aliva worked with Installer SD Samuels (Special Projects) Ltd to deliver the vision.

The design incorporated clay brick slips in a mix of colours and contrasting textures to envelope the two tallest elevations, using Aliva’s high performance External Wall Insulation system.

The textured cream, brown and red multi slips, in 15mm and 25mm thicknesses, were used to achieve the required finish. The challenging design also called for intricate detailing to follow the undulations of the building.

For the 8-storey element, the architect’s brief required large format stone panels to create a stunning finish and offer contrast with the two taller elevations.

Aliva designed and supplied a package of around 800m2 of large format natural stone rainscreen cladding, fitted onto Aliva’s Ali Stone 3 substructure system. Made of aluminium alloy, the system is composed of U-shaped brackets, and high structural strength box section vertical mullions and horizontal profiles.

Aliva’s Termok8 Minerale (Mineral Wool) clay brick slip system worked perfectly with the project’s design brief. The A1 accredited system is fully non-combustible, having achieved the highest fire classification based on testing to standard EN 13501-1:2019.

James Ormerod, Managing Director, Aliva UK, said: “This stunning combination of A1 accredited clay bricks and EWI has helped transform the site of a former 16th Century Shakespearean era playhouse into sleek and stylish homes for students in the heart of the Capital. We are thrilled to receive this INCA award in the new build category which shows the art of the possible with EWI and brick slip systems.”

This is the second award this month for Aliva having scooped an equally prestigious Façade Awards UK trophy for the best use of a rainscreen cladding system using glass or ceramics for a bespoke terracotta project – Elm House in Brighton.