PLANS have been submitted to replace the cladding of Glasgow’s Hilton Garden Inn to improve its fire performance and appearance.
Submitted by Threesixty Architecture, on behalf of Hilton, the planning document states that the building is compliant with the technical standards in place at the time of construction, however the client ‘wishes to improve the building envelope for both fire performance and appearance’.
The document continues, “The existing spandrel panels have combustible materials and are not correctly fire stopped. There is also variation between the standard spandrel panels which have a similar construction to the cladding panels and the spandrel panels to the east elevation where they are glazed with metal lining internally. It is proposed to replace all spandrel panels with correctly fire stopped panels.”
It adds that the existing metal cladding and associated support system would be stripped and replaced with a new system including supports. The document continues, “It is proposed to retain the base course of black stack bonded terracotta tiles, however the top of this cavity will have to be adequately fire stopped as it is currently open below the feature flashing and EPDM.
“The new cladding will incorporate the thermal insulation for the building envelope and we have the opportunity to improve the existing U-values (to areas of new cladding) to reduce ongoing heating costs, if this is achievable within the budget.”
In terms of appearance, capturing the ‘historical industrious tones’ of the River Clyde to create a ‘jewel box’ of black and silver and reflection are being sought. The firm explained that ‘flashes’ of colour have been deliberately avoided as colour goes ‘in and out of fashion’ and can also clash with new branding strategies.
The firm wrote, “We feel this palette gives the building a defined character which will stay robust for years to come.”
