Sutton Coldfield College, Birmingham

Client: Sutton Coldfield College
Type of works: supply of Kingspan Benchmark's ceramic granite range, specified for the principal elevation of the building.

Ceramic granite from Kingspan Benchmark has provided the ideal solution for the refurbishment of the Learning Resource Centre at Sutton Coldfield College in Birmingham.

The college was looking to transform the existing dated building to reflect its aspirational ethos, leading to ceramic granite being specified for the principal elevation of the building. Ceramic granite was also chosen for the college’s new Business Centre building.

Nigel Felton of McAndrew Watts, architects and interior designers for the project, said: “Kingspan Benchmark were extremely helpful during the initial concept design stage and was also pro-active in providing technical backup to the contractor on site. The Ceramic Granite enabled us to create the desired look for this important campus building.”

The Learning Resource Centre includes a reference library with over 25,000 books, 150 periodicals and audio-visual materials, for individual and group study. The IT area provides access to up-to-date software packages, scanning and colour printing facilities, electronic resources and the internet.

Suitable for both refurbishment and new-build projects, the ceramic granite range combines all the benefits of the Benchmark Karrier panel, with the appearance of natural stone. The loadings on the substructure and building exterior are also dramatically reduced when compared with naturally quarried stone.

The facade can be cut to specific project dimensions, openings and features, whilst a patented manufacturing process achieves individual veining on the tiles replicating that of quarried stone.

The Benchmark product range of architectural roof, wall and facade systems is the result of comprehensive research, partnership working and innovative thinking that enables bold new architectural designs to be created from a wide variety of colours and textures, without compromising on performance.

For further information please visit www.kingspanbenchmark.com.