A flagship office development, named ‘Best Commercial Building’ in the recent Bradford Design Awards used two Kingspan panelling systems in its construction.

Architects Watson Batty were awarded the prize for their work on Shire House, a £3m office development from L&B Developments, on the site of a former textile mill.

Their unusual design, with a stone plinth and predominantly glass and cladding construction to the upper floors, incorporated Kingspan’s uniquely flat KS 1000 Optimo facade system as part of the wall envelope and the Kingzip^® KS 1000 ZIP standing seam roofing system. As with all Kingspan panel systems, both Optimo and Kingzip^® offer exceptional thermal performance and levels of airtightness, making them fully compliant with thermal building regulations.

The new office building is a strikingly contemporary contrast among the mainly Yorkshire sandstone buildings of the Little Germany area of the City in which it sits, and the judges particularly praised the design for its use of ‘modern construction materials’.

Cladding contractors Barry Collen Ltd had the job of fitting the panels. Dave Bedford, for the company, said:

“An unusual aspect of this project was that the architect wished to create a feature, adjacent to the front entrance of the building, which was to represent a sail. This was to be some 24m high and 6m wide and was to terminate in a feature pinnacle. We achieved this by utilising Kingspan flat wall panels laid vertically to facet around a curved steel support structure.

“Our company has worked with Kingspan on numerous occasions. We find the Kingspan panels extremely easy to work with. As usual we had the full technical back-up of the Kingspan organisation.”

Kingspan Insulated Panels designs and manufactures high quality FIREsafe insulated roof, wall and facade systems for the construction industry. The systems are manufactured from the highest quality materials, using state of the art production equipment to rigorous quality control standards, (complying with ISO 9001: 2000 standard), ensuring long term reliability, and service life of 40 years or more. Kingspan panel systems are LPCB certified and carry the 25 year Total Guarantee Assurance for coating, structural and thermal performance, a comprehensive package which is unique in the industry.

Andy Patel, Divisional Technical Manager for Kingspan Insulated Panels said:

“This is one more in a growing list of award-winning buildings which make creative use of our innovative building technology. This award confirms Kingspan’s position as a leading manufacturer and supplier of pre-engineered insulated roof and wall systems.”

Shire House is already a City landmark, and is being credited as spearheading Bradford’s regeneration by attracting other complimentary developments nearby.

The project was developed by brothers Lucky and Bobby Singh, who run the property investment and management company L & B Developments. It stands on the former site of their family’s textile mill, the iconic Dilbag House, which was destroyed by fire two years ago and has now relocated.

The office complex is expected to bring new jobs and businesses to the area thanks to its central location and high-specification design.

Bobby Singh said:

"Shire House is the first building of its kind for a number of years in Bradford, both in terms of design and the speculative nature of the development. We have been sensitive to the adjacent Little Germany area and produced a building that is striking, modern, yet in keeping with the area.”