Conceived as a landmark in the tradition of wayside and pilgrimage chapels, the house provides a setting for specially commissioned works by contemporary artist Grayson Perry, exploring the unique qualities of Essex through the life of a fictional character, Julie Cope. The exterior is clad in green and white ceramic tiles, cast from originals made by Perry, depicting Julie as mother and icon, along with symbols associated with her life.
Charles Holland of FAT, said: “The house is a striking object in its setting, but one that also has formal resonance. It is like a richly encrusted and highly decorated barn, with a healthy dose of Essex bling thrown in. The Nordic Royal copper alloy cladding refers to the kinds of roofs often found on both rural churches and barns but it also has a special, almost glamorous quality – and both characteristics work well with the building’s narrative.
We also liked the look of the material in relation to the green tiles. While the golden copper alloy is obviously striking it also relates tonally to the corn and barley fields in the summer that surround the building. It appears quite ‘raw’ and metallic in comparison to some other, more artificial-looking materials. And it keeps its colour whilst becoming slightly more muted and ageing nicely.”
Nordic Royal is produced by Aurubis, part of the world’s leading integrated copper group and largest copper recycler. Other copper alloys include Nordic Bronze and Nordic Brass – now also available pre-weathered. In addition to Nordic Standard copper, other Aurubis Architectural surfaces include Nordic Green and Nordic Blue factory-applied patinas - developed with properties and colours based on the same brochantite mineralogy found in natural patinas all over the world. Nordic Brown pre-oxidised copper gives either light or dark brown oxidisation that otherwise takes time to develop in the environment.
