PROJECT DETAILS
The construction of the 32-storey City Lofts resulted in the tallest building in Sheffield. 6,000 sqm of unitised curtain walling was used and is designed to be light and slender with glazing from nearly 700 WICONA panels.
The unitised pre-glazed panels were installed over a six month period, at the rate of a floor a week - eliminating the need for scaffolding, improving site safety and cost efficiency, and allowing faster completion of the building envelope.
The facade is glazed in clear low E glass to the vision areas, with enamel-coated black opaque glass used as vertical strips to conceal insulated walls and champagne-coloured vertical spandrel panels with concave pressings to conceal structural columns and party walls. Aluminium-faced spandrel panels were used as horizontal bands between floors.
This curtain wall is capped to form a visible grid for a picture frame appearance with the frames finished in a light brown. Bottom-hung full-height vents were inserted directly into the unitised panels to naturally ventilate the bedrooms, with a tilt-slide door for living areas and an internal glass balustrade which was independently fixed.
In addition to the extensive use of glazing, City Lofts has a variety of external treatments comprising of specially made terracotta rainscreens to the building ends and bronze cladding to the rooftops creating an elegant envelope for this stunning building.
The tower provides 230 luxury apartments - a mix of one and two-bed apartments and penthouses, with a contemporary Conran design for city centre living. The two lower floors of the building provide commercial and retail space.
