SIG Design Technology has supplied their elZinc Rainbow as the cladding material for the Alchemist cocktail bar in Salford Quays.

The choice of elZinc Rainbow Gold Protect was made as the design team understood that the material will remain stable and won’t weather as heavily as the alternatives and would be best suited for this project on this site.

The roof has multiple falls against each other at low pitch, and the choice of metal cladding suited the precise geometry of the building form exactly. The zinc on all surfaces hit the brief for visual quality for all angles.

The finished building is clad in elZinc Rainbow Gold Protect over an Admaster composite panel which provides both insulation and acoustic attenuation – quite important for a bar in a mixed-use area. Longworth designed the deck with a thicker Admaster panel to ensure the design met the sound attenuation requirements of the project. Zinc in the roof areas is 0.7mm and 0.8mm on the walls. The standing seams are at 430mm centres which allowed no waste from a 1m wide roll of the product.

In terms of longevity not only will it last 30-40 years and won’t degrade, it doesn’t suffer UV attack and will continue to oxidise gradually, like a natural zinc product. Zinc also has other benefits for this project. Room explains that because the roof cantilevers out over the canal, zinc’s zero maintenance qualities are ideal.