Matt Hill, project architect at Blackpool Council, on cladding The Oracle.
This £4.4m youth centre project is located on the University of Blackpool’s Palatine Campus towards the south of Blackpool and comprises activity and educational areas, a community kitchen and cafe, health clinic, offices and indoor and outdoor theatres spread across two independent structures connected by a suspended link.
It is part of the government’s £270m Myplace initiative, set up to create dozens of state-of-the-art youth centres across England and Wales. The Oracle’s most visually striking feature is a 30m long x 6m high x10m deep tube-shaped “pod”, which is raised about 10m above the ground on sloping concrete pillars and clad in bright orange Vieo panels.
Early in the design process we looked at materials from various suppliers, including copper, zinc and composite panels, but we liked the fact that Vieo’s aluminium surface could be easily bent to create curves without any deformation.
An advisory group of young people from across Blackpool were consulted on the building design and they were insistent on the importance of the cladding’s colour and vibrancy.
The structure of the pod is a lightweight steel frame supported by steel columns encased in concrete. It was important to keep the pod’s weight to a minimum as it stands independent of the main building and Vieo provided a lightweight envelope.
The surface can also be easily repaired and any future knocks or dents as a consequence of maintenance activities or vandalism can be smoothed flat without having to replace panels.
We liked the idea of doing a modern take on an established system – Vieo is a form of seamless metal roofing, but here it wraps around the structure, posing new design and construction challenges. We had a long narrow site with a small working area so the cladding had to be able to go up fast, while meeting site health and safety requirements.
