Whilst the new facilities have been constructed as a single building, ceramic granite in different colourways and surface textures has helped to give each part of the development its own clear identity.

For Consett Academy, Seymour Harris, architects for the main contractor Carillion, specified multi-format polished and unpolished black facade panels from one of Shackerley’s most popular ceramic granite ranges. Installed in a ‘broken bonded’ configuration, the cladding forms a key design element of the main frontage.

“Using premium black materials normally associated with the high end commercial sector underlines the message that the academy is a place of work and that learning leads towards a bigger world,“ commented Seymour Harris Director, Tim Johnson.

To give the new leisure centre a separate identity and sense of purpose, the architects specified SureClad® ceramic granite facades in a much lighter stone colourway to clad exterior elevations, with contrasting black detailing at the main entrance.

“The SureClad® system gave us the design flexibility we needed,” said Tim. ”It allowed us to manipulate the facade coursing to employ both matt and polished layers of different heights and to interface effectively with entrance features and glazing elements”.

He concluded: “Shackerley’s ceramic granite gave us everything we were looking for... excellent clean lines, stunning appearance of quality, robustness with long term low maintenance. The choice available also meant that we were able to reflect very effectively the natural local materials and strata and outcrops of the surrounding landscape in our designs, whilst maintaining the civic quality demanded and continuity of detailing”.