Dupont provides Motel One façade
DuPont has provided the distinctive cladding for the new Motel One building by Mackay + Partners in London.
Taking the place of a run-down office building, the property uses DuPont’s high-tech Corian surface to create an illuminated façade. It is the first building in the UK to adopt this application, and the structure provides a sparkling new face to the heart of London’s financial district.
This elegant exterior functions both as a sustainable open-jointed rain screen façade and a distinctive design feature. The cladding, made from Corian in a translucent white, presents a pure and simple finish during daylight hours, but at night, backlit designs within certain panels illuminate the structure to dramatic effect. The LED lighting system is on a colour wheel that can be changed via computer controlled dimming and the patterns and hues chosen reflect the Motel One brand.
Offering a new four star hotel to the area, the latest Motel One property is comprised of 291 guestrooms and is now open for business. The building features two forms: a seven storey decorative cube fronting the street, and a sixteen-storey glass tower to the rear. The concept enjoyed full support from the City of London planning department who were happy to explore the choice of DuPont Corian as the exterior cladding material, as opposed to the more typical specifications of steel, glass or stone.
The exterior cladding was created using approximately 1,000m² of DuPont Corian high-tech surface in a 12mm thickness, and by exploiting the brand’s unique 1500mm width sheet to reduce the necessity for additional joints. Silverside Trading of Shoreham-by-Sea in Sussex installed the facade system.
