Hunter Douglas provides tailor-made façade to new superstore

The modern supermarket is a familiar site in our towns and cities, but a new Tesco store in Sheffield has a distinctive look thanks to a customised façade created by Hunter Douglas.

Working closely with the architect, contractor and installation team, Hunter Douglas manufactured a Multi Panel Façade (MPF) that created a visually impressive finish but that also met strict planning guidelines.

Local planners in Sheffield had enjoyed a significant role in this retail development and even requested a last-minute addition to the façade.

The close working partnership that is characteristic of all Hunter Douglas projects ensured this late change could be accommodated without scheme over-running.

A unique feature of the Tesco scheme was the introduced of what the architects, the Saunders Partnership, called “shards” - flashes of random metal strips cutting through the facade. The Hunter Douglas design team ensured that the MPF was manufactured to integrate the unusual shards.

In total, Hunter Douglas created 1,400 m2 of MPF that included: 295m2 White RAL1013; 357m2 Brown RAL8024; 349m2 Orange RAL8023; 261m2 Beige RAL1019; and 135m2 Red RAL3002. The MPF carrier system allowed quick and accurate installation of the panels which helped installers MetClad to stay within the scheduled programme and allowed the store to open on time.

This attention to detail and flexibility are important aspects of the Hunter Douglas operation and the architects chose the company’s MPF solution having worked with the HD Sandwich Wall system on a previous project. The architects knew of HD’s range of products and settled on MPF solution as a cost-effective rainscreen solution that also met the design brief for the store.

The different panel types and dimensions that make up the Hunter Douglas MPF system provide designers with a comprehensive range of linear panels with which every façade can get its own and unique appearance. The MPF systems also have a concealed fixing system, which allows free thermal movement of the aluminium cladding panels with an easy-to-install method.

The different panel modules and the option to curve, crank or close panel ends allow the application of MPF to almost any new or existing superstructure in need of simple fixings.

Hunter Douglas have developed a special parabolic feature panel allowing for exceptional design effects to be created on the façades. Produced from thin aluminium, the panels are very flexible and can be shaped into the desired module design, resulting in a parabolic curve in the horizontal direction of each panel.

From single story buildings to high-rise structures, MPF provide a robust exterior solution that resists high wind loads and includes cranked corners that are precisely integrated with the existing support systems.

All these qualities, combined with the visually impressive style of the solution, made it the perfect system for Tesco’s flagship new Sheffield store.