Wienerberger Penter clay pavers have helped create a whole new urban environment by forming a key material choice of a £250 million investment in Telford town centre.
The first phase of Telford’s groundbreaking Southwater development has been completed. The unveiling of the gold-clad Telford & Wrekin Council building signals the start of the £250million investment in the Shropshire town. The project – situated on green belt, waterside land - represented a serious aesthetic challenge for the developers at Morgan Sindall. Careful selection of building materials was of paramount importance to the design and Wienerberger was chosen to provide clay pavers.
Natural beauty
There was a clear requirement for the paving to provide Southwater One with a physical and symbolic link between the bold, unapologetically modernist external appearance of the development and its natural surroundings. The Siena (Hague Cream) pavers addressed that specification; the warm, sandy, tones blending with the surrounding natural landscape. In addition, the use of Wienerberger’s Mastiek and Auraton pavers, with their clean grey finishes, created a crisp waterfront patina.
The finished development is intended to create an exciting commercial space, while also providing a sense of tranquility and solidity. The use of clay paving has helped to realise this, with its natural durability addressing the latter, while the laying pattern and colouration contribute to the former. With both the rigid Stretcher pattern and the more sporadic Herringbone technique being employed, the retail scape is afforded both consistency and variety.
Attention to detail
Ultimately, the project’s architectural ambition promises to provide a high functioning retailscape from which Telford can develop its business, retail, commerce and public facilities. Southwater One stands as a testament to the vision of urban planners, and the intelligent application of building materials and techniques.
Keith Barker, Commercial Director at Wienerberger, commented: “This was a scheme with a great deal of considerations, from material performance and local environment, right down to the smallest design spec - but it’s that sort of attention to detail that defined this project, and made it something that we were so very keen to contribute to.”
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