Steel building wins green light

Adrian James Architects has won planning permission for this almost entirely steel HQ building for Corus Colorcoat in Deeside, North Wales.

The 3,800m2, four-storey cylinder-like building will house 180 staff, who are currently scattered across the steel giant's 250ha Shotton Works' site.
 

 

According to the practice, the £6.5 million scheme will be a 'showcase for steel' and will demonstrate how the metal can be used 'to address the new parameters of sustainability and buildability'.

Sunscreens, which will wrap around the open-plan office block, will be made of expanded steel-mesh veiling, while a series of perforated, acoustic baffles suspended the length of the atrium will display the full Corus Colours range.
 
Waste heat from the coatings plant will help maintain the temperature within the new block and the existing lagoon will be used as a heat sink during the summer.