Cladding that Looks Like Copper

Housing Fat Eddies Bar and a number of restaurants, 76 Hereford Street is a wonderful example of how the post-quake rebuild is bringing architectural innovation to Christchurch. The building’s distinctive vertical cladding is multi-width Eurotray Angle Seam cladding in Lignite colour, supplied by Dimond Roofing.

Architect for the project Paul Milkin of Shearer Milkin explains how this cladding choice came about: “The cladding first specified for this project was untreated, unsealed copper, which weathers to create the distinctive patina of oxidised copper. Two things prevented this original plan from going ahead. Firstly, the project managers priced the job and discovered that the copper cladding was too expensive. Secondly, the University of Canterbury released research about the environmental impacts of copper in the Christchurch rebuild. This study concluded that runoff from copper cladding has adverse effects on the Avon River.”

The project managers sourced an alternative cladding for the building, and that’s how the building came to be clad with Eurotray Angle Seam. “The colour gave us the look we wanted, it was significantly less expensive and there were no environmental problems. Problem solved!” says Paul.

Creating the Distinctive Vertical Pattern

CS Roofing Canterbury of Christchurch were tasked with installing the cladding, which was applied on top of building paper, plywood, battens and insulation. When it came to positioning and matching the multi-width trays to create the building’s striking vertical lines, Shearer Milkin recognised CS Roofing Canterbury’s experience with similar cladding jobs and let them get on with it. Installing cladding that is both decorative and functional requires an eye for art, in addition to the usual building skills.

“In terms of creating an attractive pattern with the trays, we know what’s involved and understand what works best. It’s our specialty. Everybody was really happy with the aesthetic outcome,” says Tray Roofing Foreman, Kegan Myall. Another challenge was keeping the public safe while the cladding was being fitted. “We had to work carefully around the pedestrians, using scissor lifts and knuckle booms to get the cladding into position. Fortunately, the product is lightweight and strong, so it was easy to work with in that respect.”

Dimond Roofing have also supplied Eurotray Angle Seam cladding to other significant Christchurch projects, including Little High Eatery and Whisky Galore. “Being part of the Christchurch rebuild is awesome and this building is in an iconic spot, overlooking the river and the Bridge of Remembrance,” says Kegan. 

About the Cladding

Eurotray Angle Seam is both a popular roofing profile and an exceptional wall cladding solution. In cladding situations, Angle Seam can be run vertically or horizontally. Angle Seam can also be concave curved. The Lignite ColorCote colour was applied over a substrate of 0.55mm MagnaFlow, an aluminium/zinc/magnesium alloy coating that provides long-term protection against corrosion.