Client: East Thames Housing Association
Contractor: Galliford Try Partnerships
Type of works: installation of fibre-cement Natura cladding panels.

Barking Foyer, an iconic residential and commercial development in East London, has recently been completed using Marley’s Natura cladding.

The fibre-cement cladding helped meet the client’s brief for a visually striking building that created an iconic landmark development in the area.

Barking Foyer, funded by East Thames Housing Association, now provides accommodation for 118 young homeless people and 1,000m² of commercial office space in Barking town centre.

The housing association had a strong vision that the development should make a bold and aesthetic architectural statement and the building has certainly lived up to this expectation. Marley’s Natura panels helped deliver this because their strong, durable and lightweight properties provided much greater creative freedom at the design stage, which was underpinned by their ease of installation on site.

The exterior facade of the building was designed with contrasting Black and White Natura panels, with 300mm wide, 3 to 6m long glass fins protruding from the building at 90 degrees to the cladding. These fins reflect light across the face of the panels adding an additional visual dimension. This was complemented by Natura’s subtle tinted, semi-translucent applied coating that allows the texture of the fibre cement to show through.

Paul Ansell, Project Manager at Galliford Try Partnerships, the main contractor for the development, explained: “We had a clear brief from East Thames Housing Association to construct a building that would set the standard for the regeneration of Barking town centre. Barking Foyer achieves this in a contemporary and stylish way, which was helped by the aesthetic appeal and ease of installation offered by Marley’s Natura cladding.”

Natura is available in a range of standard and made-to-order colours. Marley’s mechanical secret fix was used on Barking Foyer to retain the crisp, clean lines of the facade. The panels offer class ‘O’ fire-performance and have an installed life expectancy of at least 50 years.

“We are delighted that Natura helped deliver the clients brief for an iconic building,” remarked Diana Bullock, Campaign Manager Marley. “We are finding that increasing numbers of building designers are using fibre-cement cladding because it offers a multitude of benefits.”