The new university building of engineering "New Engineering Building" in Sheffield (UK) has a Czech façade

The Czech company Sipral a.s., a leading supplier of comprehensive solutions for glazed façade systems, participated in one of the most significant investment projects in Sheffield, namely the construction of a new building for the Faculty of Engineering at the university. The value of the contract exceeded 250 million crowns, while the entire project cost 81 million pounds, equivalent to over three billion crowns. The building was opened to students this September.



The "New Engineering Building" project, which Sipral won in the autumn of 2013, marked the company's anticipated comeback to the British market following a long period of economic crisis in Europe. The building is located in the heart of the university city of Sheffield on Leavygreave Road and, with its uniqueness, creates a very interesting contrast between typical British brick construction and the more modern buildings surrounding it.

The investor for this construction was the University of Sheffield itself, for which the project represents the historically largest investment in teaching and education. The general contractor was Balfour Beatty Construction, with the architectural design coming from Twelve architects & Masterplanners.

The façade in the shape of diamonds comes from the Czech Republic

“The facade design was inspired by the very name of the building - The Diamond. We created an unforgettable and distinctive design that reflects the top-notch reputation of the engineering faculty of this university. The design refers to the detailed depiction of stone on the surrounding historic buildings, but in a contemporary, innovative, and technically sophisticated interpretation.” describes architect and director Matt Cartwright from Twelve architects & Masterplanners, adding: “The true success of the façade lies in its realization, fabrication, and assembly. We closely collaborated with the company Sipral, and together we shared the desire to create a fantastic solution that would surpass all expectations.”

The new building will provide the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield with a total of 9 lecture halls, 6 flexible classrooms, over 30 group and relaxation rooms, and 19 technical teaching laboratories with very specific equipment – for example, a room with an aircraft engine. In total, this amounts to nearly 5,000 study places for students from around the world. The university's main goal was to build the best-equipped technical teaching spaces and laboratories in Britain. These are now accessible to students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"The Diamond project at the University of Sheffield meant for us primarily working on an amazing project. The seemingly simple glazed modular façade is complemented by a projecting decorative structure in a golden-brown color evoking diamonds. Together, they create a beautiful and design-pure impression. Matt Cartwright and his team at Twelve Architects have created a building that has the potential to excel in architectural competitions. While I praise the building itself, I must also mention the very successful and pleasant collaboration not only with the architects but also with the client, general contractor Balfour Beatty. I would love to see more such projects." says Radim Koštial, Sales Director at Sipral.

803 unique modules, 10,814 modules with bronze finishing

The largest part of the comprehensive delivery of the façade consists of a modular façade covering an area of approximately 6,000 m² and 803 unique elements (the typical size of a module is 1.8 m x 4.5 m, with a maximum height of 5.5 m and a minimum height of 2.2 m). The modules are developed from system aluminum profiles from the Hueck brand specifically designed for this project in black RAL9004. Most of the façade elements are fully glazed. Each element contains a minimum of 2, but in some cases up to 12 pieces of glass of various shapes, sizes, and compositions.

A very specific and unique delivery involves the final cladding made from specially bent aluminum sheets, known as Lattice. Thanks to numerous tests, presentations, and sampling, Sipral achieved the final desired shape, appearance, and fixing mechanism on the façade. The Lattice consists of 2 mm aluminum sheets of various lengths (1 – 5 m) with a specific segmented bend at both ends. The exterior façade comprises 10,814 pieces with a bronze finish. The interior façade consists of 2,707 pieces of black Lattice.

The complex grid façades of the atriums have a total area of 681 m². A significant portion of their fillings consists of frameless openable glazed blinds designed for natural ventilation and smoke extraction in conjunction with similar openable blinds, this time framed, in the roof grid façade Clerestory covering an area of 273 m². Additionally, three corner grid façades on the ground floor covering a total area of 583 m² are located at the entrances to the building. Sipral also supplied 32 doors on the ground floor, 8 entrance carousels with manual opening, and small constructions of anodized ceilings.


More details about the project can be found on the pages of the University of Sheffield
on the pages of Twelve architects & Masterplanners
and on the pages of the company Sipral