Perforated panels combine safety, functionality and aesthetics

LISTEN HERE

​​​​​​Overlooking the Manchester City Canal, a total of 500 apartments are being built in Manchester Waters. The location, quality and facilities are unique, and the selection ranges from studios to 3-bedroom apartments. The first blocks are finished and stand as a symbol of the new Manchester.

Premium waterfront living on this level must offer all amenities, including the ability to park near the residence. Therefore, car park facilities have been established on the lower level. In this connection, RMIG Solutions has supplied facade panels for covering the car park.

Challenges and wins

The facade panels presented several challenges. Aesthetically, the panels should be decorative and match the architecture. Functionally, they should have an extraordinarily large open area, as the rest of the basement is surrounded by solid walls. Finally, the panels should appear in a raw finish, directly from the mill.

The task was solved thanks to a close and trusting collaboration with the architect. Aesthetically, the choice fell on a botanical pattern with a closed surface at the top that hides the concrete deck.

An open area of 50% is difficult to achieve in this thickness (3mm), particularly in an aesthetic finish, but with precision tools, our sales and development departments at RMIG Solutions managed to increase this. The architect proposed displacing some of the panels to provide extra ventilation, and this ultimately resulted in an open area of approximately 75%.