York St John University Creative Arts Centre

A major creative arts centre in the heart of York St John University campus houses a high-tech 210 seat auditorium, a recital hall, critical listening theatre, and specialist areas for computer science, writing, and media production. A new atrium facing York minster has been created to link all of the teaching areas with the auditorium and is planned as a civic space, providing an area for public performances.

The university appointed Kier as the main contractor to deliver a £13m new creative centre. Built across 2,600 sqm and spanning three floors, the state-of-the-art design uses timber throughout to create a warm atmosphere, whilst a glass and timber roof lets natural daylight flood into the building purposely unobstructed by interior columns. BCL Timber Projects were awarded the contract to deliver approximately 2,500sqm of external timber cladding. The project designed by Tate Harmer Architects features a striking curved auditorium wrapped in Siberian Larch.

Protecting the building envelope behind this striking creative facade is ITP’s Powerlon UV145 FR, an advanced UV resistant breather membrane that is flame retardant to Class B (EN 13501-1), engineered to provide long-term protection for the building envelope; it is breathable, water repellent and highly UV resistant with superior durability compared to conventional breather membranes.

Speaking about the material specification, Marc van der Voort ITP’s MD, said “It is always great to be involved in a project that is on our doorstep, and living locally I have witnessed the site evolve and the scheme come to life. I am delighted that our material has been installed in what promises to be a spectacular building in the heart of the city”.