The Natura Plus and Textura panels are being employed on the stair towers at both ends of the six-storey building and over four storeys of the entrance elevation, as well as floor zone bands on all elevations.
“It’s a fairly substantial amount of cladding overall and we chose it for the projected weathering qualities of the fibre cement product, required in the aggressive marine environment of Ness Point,” said Chris Gerrard of Pick Everard.
The through-colour Natura Plus and highly glazed, granular finish Textura panels are being fixed using storey-height timber cassettes over the entrance elevation and a metal framing system on the concrete stair towers by main contractor Wates Construction.
A pivotal building in Suffolk County Council’s regeneration of Lowestoft’s waterfront, the landmark OrbisEnergy centre will house around 30 small to medium sized businesses involved in the offshore renewable energy sector, and showcase sustainability, signposted by ‘Gulliver’, the UK’s tallest wind turbine at 126 metres, which adjoins the site.