Marley Eternit has supplied a complete fibre cement envelope solution for Gamlingay Eco Hub in Cambridgeshire.

Profiled sheeting in Laurel Green was specified by Civic Architects for the roof and Cedral Weatherboard in Red and Cevennes Green for the walls.

The project involved extending and refurbishing the existing single-storey 1970’s community centre, which had been closed because of its deteriorating flat roof.

Profile 6 is a high strength fibre cement profiled sheeting that is available in a range of eight colours. It can be used for roofs of 5° pitch and over, and at Gamlingay Eco Hub incorporated 200mm rigid insulation clipped in between rafters to achieve a U-value of 0.15 W/m²K.

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A range of Marley Eternit fibre cement profiled sheeting accessories was used including eaves bend sheets and apron flashings to create a smooth transition between the roof on a double height reception area and a large glass wall above ground floor level.

"The Eco Hub's appearance was inspired by Scandinavian architecture," said Dan Jones, a director at Civic Architects. "We also scaled and selected materials to create an aesthetic between an agricultural building by using Profile 6, to reflect local architecture in this rural area, and the domestic using Cedral Weatherboard."

Fibre cement Cedral Weatherboard has a subtly textured surface that gives the visual appearance of timber, but without any of the maintenance issues. It was used to clad both the old and new sections of the building. Overcladding the existing facade with Cedral Weatherboard allowed the incorporation of an additional 75mm of insulation, which achieved the same U-value as the new build walls of 0.21 kW/m²K.

The weatherboard has been installed in a shiplap design and off-cut sections were then used to create a vertical frieze along the top of each bay and as colourful shingles around the entrance area, minimising material wastage.

Both Profile 6 and Cedral Weatherboard have an installed life expectancy of at least 50 years, with no routine maintenance requirements.

(CD/GK)