Colorcoat-Online - Corus Colorcoat® Centre for the Building Envelope

Corus Colorcoat® Centre for the Building Envelope

Working with one of the largest architectural schools in the UK, Corus has established the Corus Colorcoat® Centre for the Building Envelope at Oxford Brookes University to support research and innovation in the use of pre-finished steel in the building envelope.

The new centre will help Corus provide increased assistance for our customers in developing new cladding systems and conduct research to promote the use of pre-finished steel roof and wall cladding systems in the buildings of the future. A key area of focus is how the building envelope can contribute to the aims of sustainable development, with work focusing on minimising operational energy as well as life cycle analysis and the development of modern methods of construction. One example of this work is the extensive programme of physical testing which has been carried out on the air-tightness of cladding joints. The Colorcoat® Centre provides an excellent example of how Corus is working to provide better value for the market.

Development of testing facilities to assess air-tightness

The Corus Colorcoat® Centre for the Building Envelope, based in Oxford, has developed one of the world’s most advanced testing facilities for assessing the air-tightness of building details. Using this it is possible to simulate real life detailing issues and determine the effect on whole building air-tightness. This will be Invaluable in helping architects and contractors comply with the changes to Part L (2006) Building regulations. In developing these testing facilities with Oxford Brookes Architectural School, Corus believes the results will be used to provide more airtight building details, reducing energy-in-use for the client and future-proofing commercial developments from uncertain fuel prices. Results of this study can be found in the Colorcoat® Technical Paper "Creating an air-tight building envelope".