James and Taylor to supply natural glazed cladding to green library project in Leeds
(26/10/2009)

Garforth Library and One Stop Centre in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a community-focused project with a difference – it is being designed and built to green-friendly specifications encouraging wildlife to live on the building itself whilst employing solar technology to heat the building’s internal water system.

Leeds Library & Information Service was awarded £1.4m from the Big Lottery Fund to develop the new Library & One Stop Centre for Garforth. The current Library building will be extended and redesigned, allowing for the Library, One Stop Centre and Credit Union to be housed under one roof.

James & Taylor have won the contract to supply a natural glazed cladding to the ground-breaking green project. Architect Leeds City Council invited James & Taylor to tender for the project after seeing the work the company did along Cloth Hall Street in the heart of Leeds – a distinctive glazed lava stone.

Kwesi A-Hayford for Strategic Design Alliance (Leeds City Council) comments: “The brief was to regenerate a key building that would serve as an example to the surrounding area and enhance the overall architecture of the streetscape. With the existing building occupying a focal point in its locality, the response was a landmark building with a striking architectural form and appearance. In developing the design, one of the main considerations was the use of expressive and imaginative materials.

“We worked with James & Taylor from early on in the design process, and the Alphaton glazed terracotta tile was chosen as a material that would unify the old and new extension. The crisp and contemporary appearance of the tile contributed to achieving the client's brief - an excellent example of town centre regeneration that breathes a new life into an existing 60's building.”

Lee Cole, James & Taylor comments: “Regeneration projects such as Garforth library pose unique challenges for all parties concerned as unifying old and new elements involve many considerations both aesthetic and practical. We are confident that the Alphaton glazed terracotta tile will be the perfect durable cladding for such a futuristic project.”

The new building will feature a “living” sedum roof that will be energy efficient and encourage wildlife. It is planned to open in 2010.