#6 Thurrock Civic Centre, Essex – A2O with Aquarian Cladding Systems
A2O and Aquarian Cladding Systems are delighted with the successful completion of the Thurrock Civic Centre. We are proud to have been part of the team, alongside Kier Construction (Eastern), Thurrock Council, LSI Architects and many other supply chain partners on this landmark first step in the Council’s regeneration strategy for the town of Grays.
Thurrock Civic Centre is a focal point for the regeneration of Grays town centre and is intended as a catalyst for change, bringing the old town into the 21st century and setting the tone for future development. The use of the innovative brick cladding solution MechSlip is therefore a perfect demonstration to the construction industry of the changes that can be made to clad buildings of the future, authentically and without compromise.
The variety of brick detailing achievable, including stretcher bond in both horizontal and vertical orientation, a textured chequerboard, large, chamfered window jambs and cills, and chamfered portico columns provided the architect with design choices similar to a child at a pick n mix sweetshop.
Without doubt, it would be impossible to achieve brick facades with this range of details, of this quality, and within this budget and programme using conventional brickwork or indeed any other brick cladding system. The use of MechSlip on Thurrock Civic Centre is a unique example of what can be achieved with a mixture of product development, imagination and innovation, a lot of careful planning and management, and an abundance of teamwork within the supply chain.
Facades of this quality demonstrate that investing in brick slip technology is essential to meet the increasing demand for a solution that is typically quicker, often more cost-effective, usually more attractive, and certainly more sustainable to produce than conventional brickwork (which uses 20% of the raw materials and embodied energy).