former industrial site in the ancient Cinque Port town of Rye has recently undergone a £2.3m transformation to create a mixed-use scheme with an impressive angular wooden facade, crafted from Kebony. The redevelopment, overseen by JD Architects (JDA), has united a disparate site, left as a derelict infill since the demolition of the 1050m² former Central Garage site, which occupied the space until 2002.
Cinque Ports Street was recognised for its clever design and sustainable focus by the Royal Institute of British Architects which announced the project as a winner at this year’s RIBA Regional South East Award.
The new scheme has greatly improved the surrounding streetscape, while maintaining much of the character of the historic town through clever design choices, which draw inspiration from the town’s maritime past. This visually striking build is predominantly for residential use comprising six flats, two penthouses, a detached house and a studio flat, all clad in a beautiful Kebony exterior and set around a central courtyard which separates the bulk of the structure on the street front from the rear two buildings.
Blending in
JD Architects aimed to create a structure that blended with the surrounding properties whilst being eye-catching and beautiful. Heavily influenced by local history, the architects looked to traditional East Sussex coastal architecture where they observed the interweaving of simple lines. The Cinque Ports Street development maintains this tradition of ostensibly simple forms with a simple wooden frontage inspired by the nearby shipyard warehouses, which influenced the decision to build such a high proportion of the site out of wood.
One of the more distinctive elements of the design is the dramatic angular roof line which emulates and exaggerates the neighbouring gabled roofs. The steep pitch of the roofing at either end creates a dramatic silhouette on the streetscape whilst ensuring that the new development matches the heights of adjoining buildings.
The apparent simplicity belies careful planning in the building’s details and a focus on sleek simplicity in design. Each window is positioned within the cladding board rhythms with the window frames and guttering concealed behind the Kebony facade in order to maintain the uniform exterior surface. Each window is cleverly placed with expansive glass openings to create light throughout the year, maximising the properties’ views towards the nearby Rother Valley.
The architectural history of Rye also provided some challenges to construction. Prior to construction, significant archaeological digs and studies had to be carried out to inform the design parameters and avoid disruption to the remains of Rye’s medieval town wall, which runs through the site and is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM). The choice to use timber cladding allowed for these walls to be maintained without damage, while simultaneously modernising the external appearance of the buildings with an elegant and understated design.
Sustainable construction
The architects at JDA were keen to ensure that beyond being merely an aesthetically beautiful design, the finished project utilised sustainable construction materials and would be environmentally-friendly with minimum waste. The construction techniques used include a prefabricated timber frame system which allowed for the exterior cladding boards to be insulated in factory conditions before being transported to the site to be assembled quickly upon arrival via a panelised timber frame. By assembling the structure in panels, and choosing to use only whole boards, construction waste was kept to a minimum.
The materials used in construction further reinforced the project’s environmentally sustainable focus. High demand for tropical hardwood for use in construction has, in part, contributed to a third of the world’s rainforests disappearing in the last 50 years. Instead of relying on high-performance, environmentally detrimental timber for Cinque Ports Street, the architects settled on modified softwood as a sustainable alternative. Kebony was chosen for the cladding both due to its environmental credentials, but also due to the wood’s beautiful dark colouration, similar to that of a tropical hardwood such as teak or mahogany, which perfectly complements the quiet and restrained colour palette of Cinque Ports Street. Over time, if untreated, the wood colour will soften and adapt when exposed to the sun and rain, to adopt a natural silver-grey patina, whilst maintaining Kebony’s hard-wearing properties.
Eco-friendly selections
Developed in Norway, the Kebony technology is an environmentally-friendly, patented process, which enhances the properties of fast-growing sustainable softwood with a bio-based liquid. By impregnating the wood with furfuryl alcohol, the wood’s cell wall is polymerised resulting in greatly improved durability and dimensional stability. This process gives sustainably sourced softwoods, such as radiata or Scots pine, the performance characteristics of tropical hardwoods, while mitigating the demand for tropical deforestation.
A comparative study by environmental consulting firm Bergfald & Co, showed that Kebony has a carbon footprint of less than 10% when compared with unsustainable clear fell Burmese teak or ipê from Brazil. The study showed that the carbon footprint for Brazilian ipê falls in the range of 7500–15,000 kilograms per cubic meter, while the carbon footprint of modified Kebony is approximately 459 kilograms per cubic meter. Both figures include treatment and transportation to Northern Europe. The patented Kebony process increases the wood’s lifecycle and resistance to wear and weathering without the need for chemical treatments or maintenance during the product’s lifecycle of more than 40 years. The high performance qualities and resistance to water absorption make Kebony the perfect material for external cladding boards in projects such as this.
Jonathan Dunn, Lead Architect on this project, commented: “This was a fascinating project to be involved with as we had to come up with a beautiful design that modernised the site while preserving the medieval town wall. Kebony cladding proved to be a fantastic solution, providing a contemporary look which draws on elements of local history and is a great asset for the town of Rye.”
Adrian Pye, International Sales Director at Kebony, added: “The architects at JDA have done a fantastic job, taking a derelict site and transforming it with a beautiful contemporary design in keeping with the area’s history. From the Kebony clad frontage to the carefully considered window placement, a great amount of time and thought has gone into the design details and we are delighted with the end result.”
