News

New roof for Stonehenge

Ok, the roof is actually for the stunning new Stonehenge Exhibition Visitor Centre.

Designed by architects Denton Corker Marshall and built just 1.5 miles from the world-famous heritage monument, construction of the new Visitor Centre started in July 2012.

The single-storey centre comprises separate glass and timber pods joined by an undulating canopy form which was designed to reflect the Salisbury Plain. The £27m improvement scheme also includes grassing over the A334 and closure of another section of the busy road, as English Heritage brings one of the world’s most historical tourist sites into the 21st century

When it came to choosing the roof waterproofing, long term performance and reliability were of course crucial but equally sustainability and environmental sensitivity were of the utmost importance. Alwitra EVALASTIC® from ICB, proved the ideal solution for waterproofing the complex canopy roof.

“We specified the EVALASTIC® roof early in the project as the size of the Visitor Centre roof resulted in its specification becoming an item of much interest,” said Angela Dapper, Project Associate at Denton Corker Marshall. “We highlighted the environmentally friendly specification to our clients, the client advisory groups and numerous stakeholders, and there was no other material that matched EVALASTIC® V in its environmentally friendly make up.”

EVALASTIC® is an outstanding roofing membrane, offering exceptional chemical resistance, low temperature flexibility and outstanding weather resistance. The inherent flexibility of the thermo-plastic elastomer eliminates the need for potentially environmentally harmful plasticisers. This and the absence of PVC means Evalastic is one of the most environmentally friendly waterproofing membranes on the market and this has been backed up with the publication of a Environmental Product Declaration in accordance with ISO 14025.

ICB licensed Roofing Contractor, Malone Roofing, was chosen for this important project and underwent specialist training at ICB’s headquarters in Poole prior to commencing the installation earlier this month. Throughout the installation, inspections will be carried out by ICB’s Quality Control Inspectors to ensure the work meets the company’s exacting standards.

Following the grand opening of the new centre work will immediately begin to demolish the existing visitor facilities, with the final phase of the project - the relocation of the A344 - expected to be completed in the summer of 2014.
The new environmentally sustainable Stonehenge Visitor Centre is set to open to the public on December 18th, 2013.