Ghazi Al Ali Architect chose Hebel’s PowerPattern façade system for a new apartment complex in Caringbah, NSW because of its design flexibility.
“It has achieved a really great outcome for us,” said Ghazi Al Ali, director of the Burwood-based architectural and interior design practice. Since 2011, Ghazi and his team have worked on a variety of projects in the Sydney area including retirement villages, townhouses, boarding houses and residential developments such as the apartments on Willarong Road, Caringbah.
Comprising of 45 apartments, the project was designed by PBD Architects for Landmark Property Development Group, with the building’s construction documentation managed by Ghazi Al Ali Architect, who specified Hebel PowerPattern for the façade, resulting in an attractive design outcome.
“All the parties involved, from the PCA to the client, wanted to move away from a traditional cladding finish, which was initially specified,” said Jo van de Ven, Senior Associate with Ghazi Al Ali Architect.
“We found that Hebel PowerPattern gave us the design flexibility to do some interesting building features with texture, and with the benefit of using a lightweight product.
“During the process we were impressed by how diligently CSR Hebel worked with the elevations and plans to ensure the panel layouts were aligned with windows and wall ends, so there weren’t any obvious pattern inconsistencies on the building. This made a huge difference for us during construction as we hadn’t used the product before.”
Vertical lines create an impressive façade
Hebel PowerPattern is available in a choice of decorative patterns, which are pre-routed onto the panels to achieve a distinctive appearance for building facades.
The four collections are Lineal, Geometric, Prism and Organic, catering for a variety of facade design concepts.
Left to right: PowerPattern designs are Lineal, Geometric, Prism and Organic
For the Caringbah project, Ghazi Al Ali Architect chose the PowerPattern Lineal collection – the deep vertical lines etched into the face of the panels provide an eye-catching façade for the apartment building.
It was coated with a smooth set patch and prep, and finished with acrylic paint from Rockcote, one of several coating systems that are compatible with the PowerPattern collections; this also offers architects an additional option to the traditional ‘render’ coating systems commonly used with Hebel PowerPattern.
Thanks to its design versatility, strength and fire-rating performance, the Hebel PowerPattern system met all the requirements of Ghazi Al Ali Architect for the Caringbah project.
“Blank facades can be a problem for us, particularly when they end up on the property boundary wall,” explained Jo. “Councils don’t like them and are often unwilling to approve them being kept blank. They usually want some façade treatment.
“The finish on this project looks fantastic and there are no concerns about material flammability or safety. We are really happy with the result, and appreciative of all the technical help and support the CRS Hebel team gave us along the way.”
The speedy installation associated with all Hebel systems was another important consideration for Ghazi when specifying PowerPattern for the project’s façade.
“In terms of time savings, Hebel is definitely right up there,” he said. “It’s quick and easy to install, which was one of the big factors in specifying it.
“From an aesthetic point of view, we also liked the fact that by using Hebel, we had a choice of designs and coating systems.
“The PowerPattern system has given the building a very clean and neat finish. Hebel should be just as proud of the outcome as we are.”
