Kebony combines beauty with sustainability for redevelopment of protected site
ST. CLAIR, Michigan, May 24, 2016 – JD Architects (JDA) has recently completed its ambitious redevelopment of Cinque Ports Street, the 1,050 sq. m. former Central Garage site in Rye. Derelict for fourteen years, these buildings have been given a new lease of life with a striking, angular wooden façade made from Kebony. With its clever design and sustainable focus, Cinque Ports Street was announced as a winner at this year’s RIBA Regional South East Award.
Influenced by the town’s maritime history, the transformed properties, predominantly for residential use but also containing two retail units at ground floor, combine architectural elements inspired by historic imagery of the towns nearby shipyard warehouse and traditional coastal architecture of the East Sussex coastline. Prior to construction, significant archaeological digs and studies were carried out to inform the design parameters and avoid disruption to the remains of Rye’s medieval town wall, which runs through the site and is protected as a scheduled ancient monument (SAM).
JDA wanted to create a modest design that emphasized the clean lines of traditional maritime architecture and incorporated a large amount of timber cladding, made from beautiful dark-hued Kebony, the sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood. This creates a dramatic outline on the streetscape and the steep pitched roof that angles sharply down at either side ensures the building matches the heights of adjoining buildings. The window placement has also been carefully considered to maximize the views towards Rother Valley, with expansive glass openings to obtain the most light.
The decision to choose Kebony for the cladding was made due to the wood’s aesthetic and environmental credentials, being far more environmentally friendly than comparable construction materials. Developed in Norway, the Kebony technology is an environmentally friendly, patented process, which enhances the properties of fast growing sustainable softwood with a bio-based liquid. By impregnating the wood with furfuryl alcohol, the wood’s cell wall is polymerized resulting in greatly improved durability and dimensional stability. This process gives the wood a dark coloration, comparable to woods such as mahogany or teak, which perfectly complement the quiet and restrained color pallet of Cinque Ports Street.
“This was a fascinating project to be involved with as we had to come up with a beautiful design that modernized the site while preserving the medieval town wall,” Jonathan Dunn, lead architect on this project commented. “Kebony cladding proved to be a fantastic solution, providing a contemporary look which draws on elements of local history and is a great asset for the town of Rye.”
“The architects at JDA have done a fantastic job, taking a derelict site and transforming it with a beautiful contemporary design in keeping with the area’s history,” Adrian Pye, International Sales Director at Kebony added. “From the Kebony clad frontage to the carefully considered window placement, a great amount of time and thought has gone into the design details and we are delighted with the end result.”
Photos © Oliver Perrott
@KebonyWood
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* Kebony Technology
The Kebony technology is a patented process which enhances the properties of non-durable wood species to give them similar characteristics to the best performing woods. Through a sustainable process wood species such as pines and some non-durable hardwoods are impregnated with a bio-based liquid derived from agricultural crop waste. With the addition of heat, the furfuryl polymer is permanently grafted into the wood cell wall, resulting in greatly improved durability and dimensional stability.
*Kebony Wood
Kebony is suitable for both internal and external applications that demand high performance and great aesthetics including: decking, flooring, cladding, roofing, windows, and furniture. Over time Kebony acquires its characteristic silver-grey patina when exposed to sun and rain, whilst not losing its performance characteristics. With improved durability and dimensional stability Kebony is becoming increasingly the choice of leading architects and developers enabling them to use wood in projects without causing environmental degradation. Kebony has been used internationally in projects from commercial, public, residential and marine, for example Hunter’s Point in New York, the Mary Rose museum and both residential and commercial buildings on the UK’s seafront. A recent study by Norwegian environmental consulting firm Bergfald & Co. demonstrated that Kebony has a substantially lower carbon footprint than its tropical hardwood equivalents.