Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne

Client Eastbourne Borough Council / Towner Eastbourne Charitable Trust
Specifier Rick Mather Architects
Substrate In-situ Concrete, Blockwork, Light Steel Framing
System PermaRock Mineral Fibre Lamella External Wall Insulation Systems
System 2 PermaRock Mineral Fibre External Wall Insulation Systems
Finish PermaRock Silicone Ultra K & R Finishes
Finish 2
Project Overview:

 

Background:

Towner Eastbourne is a cultural centre housing one of the largest and most well-regarded contemporary art galleries in Britain. It also features conference exhibition space, community activity rooms, retail facilities and a café. The building occupies a prominent site, set back from the town’s seafront with views of the Sussex Downs. It attracts an estimated 175,000 visitors each year and, in its centenary year, it was chosen to host the 2023 Turner Prize.

The building is attached to the Congress Theatre and it affords public access to the gallery's entire collection. In terms of structure, it includes interesting energy efficiency features, such as exposed concrete ceilings, which help to retain heat, and displaced ventilation through the walls.

 

The Brief:

In 2004 Rick Mather Architects (RMA) approached PermaRock to discuss the use of an external wall insulation system for the new Eastbourne Cultural Centre, as the scheme was then known. RMA had previously specified and used PermaRock EWI on a scheme for the University of Lincoln School of Architecture, Media and Communication and it was keen to replicate the success of that scheme. This new project demanded a system that would conform to the clear logic and elegant articulation of the architect’s design, which was intended to reflect the shape and colour of the region’s chalk cliffs.

 

Design and Specification:

Working closely with PermaRock, the design was developed based on the PermaRock Mineral Fibre Lamella EWI system with 100 mm insulation and white PermaRock Silicone K-Finish render throughout.

 

Result:

The use of the PermaRock Mineral Fibre Lamella System provided the level of thermal insulation that the energy model called for, with U-values for the walls of < 0.35 W/m2K. It also enabled the sweeping curves and sharp angles of the design to be achieved.

The use of white silicone render throughout gave the new building a clean, crisp and contemporary appearance which could withstand the rigours of the coastal environment.

The completed project was highly regarded, receiving an Architectural Achievement award in the British Design Awards 2009, a RIBA Award in 2010, Sussex Heritage Trust Award 2010 and a Civic Trust Award in 2011.

 

2019 Design Competition:

In 2019, the charitable trust that owned the site held a competition for the design of a mural to be painted on the outside of the now iconic building. The winning artist, selected from amongst 60 entrants, was Lothar Götz from Germany. He proposed a colourful geometrical design, named “Dance Diagonal.”

The client therefore contacted PermaRock to develop a plan for overpainting the walls whilst maintaining the thermal performance and weathering resistance of the façade.

PermaRock provided technical advice about the overpainting. The paints, supplied by Brewers, were hand blended to achieve the required colours and applied over the white-rendered façade. The gallery’s resulting new look was well received by tourist visitors and residents alike and, in 2020, Towner Eastbourne was named the Art Fund Museum of the Year.

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