Petrarch Cladding Provides Design Solution

Petrarch cladding panels from CEP Cladding provided a design-focused solution for the award winning housing development at Staiths South Bank on the banks of the River Tyne in Gateshead.

The Petrarch panels were chosen by lead architect Jane Massey of the ID Partnership and renowned designer Gerardine Hemingway to create a unique finish on the riverside at Staiths South Bank.

 Jane Massey said, "Gerardine Hemingway and I spent many hours, days and weeks choosing materials and colours for Staiths South Bank. We wanted to do something that pushed the boundaries a little bit.

"Concrete bricks gave us different colours from the normal range of brick tones, while cedar boarding and a variety of renders provided the other main facing materials. But on the main apartment blocks, we wanted to incorporate some different finishes, which is where we introduced Petrarch to create an aesthetic contrast in scale, texture and colour."

Spread over a 40 acre site, just minutes from Gateshead Quays and Newcastle Quayside, Staiths South Bank was developed to offer local people the best possible design solution, while creating an urban community where people really wanted to live. When complete, it will comprise 762 homes in 50 different types of home design, providing highly varied elevations, layouts and external design materials within the same building line.

Said Jane Massey, "It's very important that the whole scheme hangs together, but at the same time each area should be recognisably different in shape and form to create a unique sense of place. The Petrarch panels make a real point of difference on the riverside, while working well with the rest of colour palette. We are so pleased we chose it because it looks wonderful."

Designed by Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway in partnership with George Wimpey and the Ian Darby Partnership, Staiths South Bank was originally conceived as an alternative to bland, mass market housing. Since then, Staiths South Bank has gone on to win a cluster of awards, including most recently the Regeneration Award 2008 from Northumbria in Bloom and top prize in the residential category at the RICS North East Renaissance Awards 2006.

Some 900 square metres of Petrarch panels were used in phase one and two of the Staiths South Bank development, the second of which completed in Autumn 2008. Shades of Heather and Pewter were chosen in riven Petrarch, which has a natural textured surface that offers the convincing appearance of natural stone.