Marley Eternit Fibre Cement Slates Fulfil Architects Vision On Assisted Living Project

Leading roofing manufacturer, Marley Eternit, has helped turn an architect’s vision into a reality, when it supplied fibre cement slates for use on an innovative assisted housing project in Scotland. Working on behalf of Berwickshire Housing Association, Oliver Chapman Architects were tasked with designing 14 fully-accessible semi-detached homes and one shared services building for people requiring more substantial 24-hour care. The practice was keen to design a modern looking development which would offer a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing, yet practical environment for residents to live in. The roof represented an important aspect of the architect’s design featuring two larch elevations coupled with a roof-run down to the ground. With such a unique design, the practice wanted to select a roof covering which would complement the overall look of the building and would offer greatest visual appeal. With the help and advice of Marley Eternit, the Thrutone fibre cement slates in blue/black colour were specified for the project which had a total roof area of 14,000 square metres. With its smooth surface and square-cut edges, the Thrutone fibre cement slate provided the architect with the neat and modern finish required for the building. In comparison to other roof products, the Thrutone slates provided an attractive uniform tonal appearance. Additionally the tidy proprietary edge closer to the verge did not protrude above the roof-line, providing the roof form with an orderly appearance. Recognising the importance of designing buildings which make use of sustainable products, the architect was also keen to select a roof covering that would have minimal negative impact on the environment. The Thrutone fibre cement slate achieved this goal. Manufactured in the UK, Marley Eternit’s fibre cement slates are the only slate products of their kind which can achieve the A+ rating in the Building Research Establishments (BRE) Green Guide. Oliver Chapman of Oliver Chapman Roofing explains: "We had worked with Berwickshire Housing Association on a previous project which was a huge success and has since won several awards. We wanted to emulate this success on the latest project and so went for an innovatively designed building that we hoped residents would be happy to live in. The design of the roof was particularly striking and so we wanted a covering that would match it appropriately. Having worked happily with Marley Eternit products in the past, we decided that the manufacturer was also the right choice for this job and selected its Thrutone fibre cement slate. The product was perfect for achieving the smooth finish that we were looking for and as usual, we benefitted from Marley Eternit’s experienced technical experts who were happy to offer advice and guidance whenever needed. "Although we wanted to achieve a contemporary design, we were keen to match this aim by using modern products as well, which would offer environmental benefits. This is becoming an increasingly important factor in projects that we work on and we were pleased to discover that the Marley Eternit product would meet that requirement."

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