Customer - Midgard
Installation Contractor - UK Facades
Product - Ceramic Rainscreening Cladding, High Pressure Laminate, Insulated Render

The brief
To provide a trio of stunning finishes for a major residential and leisure development at Europe’s largest marina, in a £1 million+ contract for Aliva UK. The development includes 175 seafront apartments, car parking, commercial spaces and a new lifeboat base.

What Aliva did
Aliva supplied more than 6,000sqm of ceramic cladding – a finish tough enough to withstand Brighton seafront’s demanding weather conditions. Phase 1 cladding features a trio of colours: off white, light and mid grey – shades sympathetic to the seascape, which have helped transform Brighton’s shoreline. The first phase includes blocks F1 and F2 which are 90% residential, also featuring affordable housing. The last 10% is retail which runs around the base of the buildings next to the new RNLI building. Cladding for the lifeboat base has also been supplied by Aliva utilising its High Pressure Laminate (HPL) system in an off white, matching the ceramic cladding as closely as possible. The whole HPL system – 320 sqm, 8mm face fixed with colour coded rivets – was designed, cut and supplied by Aliva. The façade specialist also supplied insulated render for entrances, internal sides on parapet walls of balconies, on retaining walls and in between shop fronts. The complete order – c.1500sqm of insulated render in various thicknesses, was supplied as a standard colour and painted in Aliva’s Superquartz paint in maritime tones in turquoise, light blue, dark blue and light grey.

What makes it special
This was a highly complex design due to the location of the project, very high wind loads not just at the top of the building but also the tunnelling nature of the winds between the two buildings. Aliva also had to design faceted areas due to the curving nature of the buildings and incorporate numerous cuts within the tiles to ensure the buildings looked aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Its trio of leading solutions: ceramic cladding, HPL and insulated render have blended together to create a flagship aesthetic at Europe’s largest marina. Aliva’s phase 1 scope of works was completed on budget and on schedule, taking 18 months. Aliva worked with Midgard to plan and design all the stages of the façade project, including substructure, architectural elevations and scheduling of materials. Aliva’s team drew on the Italian flair of its parent company IVAS Group, whose work on other sea front projects includes the concrete restoration and ceramic cladding of the 120m Cesenatico skyscraper.

What they say
"Aliva UK designed a high performance, durable and cost-efficient façade, delivering on time and on budget. With phase 1 successfully complete it’s a delight to see their trio of systems transforming this coastal location." - Mamta Kansara, Design Director at Midgard Ltd