Street smart

The industrial container aesthetic of the Ironbank building is enhanced by the material palette. The design team specified NZ Steel's HW350 Xlerplate® weathering steel cladding for the main building forms.

Curtain wall specialist Thermosash Commercial imported, manufactured and installed the panels, which are designed to weather slowly, creating a consistent rusty patina, similar to Corten steel.

Thermosash CEO David Hayes says the unusual offset floors added to the project's complexity.

"The main challenge was working with the different angles and junctions, which all needed to be weatherproofed," he says. "Because the product is new, it was also a learning curve for the team. The logistics of the tight inner-city site was another factor. Material handling and installing the steel within the allotted space and tight time frame was particularly challenging."

In addition to the Xlerplate, Thermosash supplied and installed, in conjunction with Woods Glass (NZ), the overlapping glass panels to the stairwell curtain wall. The toughened laminated glass and the structural glass balustrades are a combination of three green and two blue shades.

Thermosash also supplied and installed all the sliding doors and windows on the exterior. A Total Vision glazing system was specified for the shopfront.

Hayes says the majority of Thermosash's work involves the design and manufacture of specific design facade solutions for commercial buildings.

For more details, contact Thermosash Commercial, PO Box 100340, North Shore City 0745, phone (09) 444 4944. Website: www.thermosash.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas