aluminium profiles – Page 8 – Aluminium Products

Aluminium Ceiling Panels – Case Study – Scottish Ballet

20 August 2010

Aluminium perforated ceiling trays at Scottish Ballet HQ help create an award-winning building

Gooding Aluminium’s perforated ceiling trays have been used to assist with acoustic control in the new head quarters building for Scottish Ballet. The new HQ has been awarded two prizes at the prestigious Scottish Design Awards: ‘Best Public Building’ and the ‘Architecture Grand Prix’.

Project: Scottish Ballet

Location: Tramway, Glasgow

Product: Aluminium Ceiling Trays, CP1

Finish: Ano-Sil Anodised

Specifier: Malcolm Fraser Architects

Seemingly floating en l’air the suspended perforated aluminium ceiling trays are filled with absorbent material to control and manage the acoustics within the technically demanding dance rehearsal studios.

Gooding Aluminium’s ceiling trays, effectively combining with florescent battens, produce a contemporary, elegant and simplistic solution to the overhead detailing in these exciting award-winning studio spaces.

Project Brief

The new headquarters building for Scottish Ballet replaces a derelict section of the Tramway arts centre on the Southside of Glasgow. The brief for the building comprised of three distinct areas – large technical workshops at ground floor, administration, wardrobe and music departments on the first floor, with three large rehearsal studios situated at the very top of the building. A large concrete stair connects Tramway’s existing foyer up to a new wood lined social space at the heart of Scottish Ballet’s building.

Aluminium Ceiling Trays, CP1 — Scottish Ballet – Aluminium Ceiling Trays

Project Outcome

The external elevations of the building had a textured, pigmented concrete cladding panel applied at ground level, designed to deal with the robustness of the day-to-day life of the street. Above this, the remainder of the building has been clad in an aluminium profiled sheet which has varying profiles and colour (from dark grey to silver and gold), all intended to achieve a subtle layering that gives proportion and scale to the building.

The sustainable project has been delivered in partnership with Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Arts Council (National Lottery Fund).

Welding Aluminium: Design Considerations

17 August 2010

I’m often asked the question, ‘Which is the best method for joining aluminium?’

The answer is ‘It depends’. It’s not a question of which one is best but rather understanding the pros and cons of each process and relating this to the intended application.

On this occasion we will consider welding. Welding is one of three principal methods by which aluminium parts can be successfully joined together. Bonding (structural adhesives) and using various mechanical means (cleating, folding, nuts/bots, screws, rivets, etc.) are the alternatives.

Carrington House, London – Reception Desk Fascias

Welding is often rightly thought of as one of the strongest and most permanent joining methods. This heat intensive process involves fusing separate aluminium items together and then using a filler to form a joint. There are different techniques for welding aluminium (MIG & TIG). The material thickness of the parts to be welded will often determine the most suitable mode.

When considering welding, however, as a preferred joining method ‘casuality’ (cause and effect) should be borne in mind. The event of welding can change the localised form and appearance of the aluminium. For many applications these considerations are of little or no consequence, but where aesthetic considerations apply, care should be exercised. It is always good to know in advance what visual and other effects might manifest from a process.

One of aluminium’s primary advantages is it’s resistance to atmospheric corrosion.

This corrosion resistance is due to the oxide coating that naturally forms on aluminium’s surface.

The aluminium oxide coating has a much higher melting point (2037 C) than the aluminium base metal (648 C)and therefore needs to be removed before welding takes place. Oxide removal is usually achieved by means of using a wire brush or solvents and etching solutions immediately prior to the welding process.

Aluminium Houses & Charles M. Goodman

16 August 2010

For those in the know, great; but for those that don’t, the question surely arises – What is the connection between Charles Goodman and Aluminium Houses?

Charles Goodman was a Washington DC based architect who specialised in designing homes in the modernist style. Inspired by, amongest others, the Bauhaus work of Mies van de Rohe, Goodman was appointed in 1957 by Alcoa (The Aluminum Company of America) to design the ‘Care Free House’. This collaboration was set up to demonstrate aluminiums‘ suitability and versatility as both a decorative and structural material within residential environments. It was also intended to display how successfully aluminium integrates with traditional materials such as brick, glass, stone and wood.

Aluminium Ceiling Panels – Case Study – Scottish Ballet

Welding Aluminium: Design Considerations

Aluminium Houses & Charles M. Goodman

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