MATERIAL

Nordic Blue Living 1, a prepatinated copper by Aurubis.

CHOICE OF FAÇADE

Our interest in this prepatinated copper goes back to 2004 when we were involved in developing the prepatinated finish with its manufacturer for a previous project.

INSPIRATION TO THE FAÇADE

Ian Ritchie grew up in Brighton and has always been fond of the copper roofs there, naturally patinated a turquoise blue by the sea air. For the Royal Academy of Music project, the blue pre-patinated copper provides just the right hue which will continue to develop naturally over time.

CHOICE OF FASTENINGS

The project uses traditional standing seam copper detailing.

PROCESSING OF THE MATERIAL

It is prepatinated in a process we helped to develop back in 2004.

CHANGE OF THE MATERIAL

The prepatinated finish is quite stable. Aurubis provided test data to show that in 10yrs time it will become a little more grey but only very fractionally.

WATER DRAINAGE AND ROOF SAFETY

There are no recessed gutters on this project as this would have impacted on the acoustic performance of the roof build-up. Instead, we were able to drain onto the surrounding flat roof of the theatre, which uses a hot melt waterproofing system. Bespoke prepatinated copper shrouds were developed to cloak the mansafe posts and the stainless steel structural supports for the glazed canopy. Together with integrated louvres and doors, these details helped to deliver an entirely seamless prepatinated copper envelope.

SPEAKER: Ian Ritchie
PROJECT: Royal Academy of Music – Theatre and new Recital Hall, London
FINISHED YEAR: 2018
ARCHITECT: Ian Ritchie Architects