Marley Alutec deliver bespoke rainwater solution for cascading roofs at medical centre

Marley Alutec has partnered with Associated Architects Birmingham and Briggsamasco to deliver a unique rainwater solution for the cascading roofs of Leicester’s Centre for Medicine.

Built for the University of Leicester, the Centre for Medicine is made up of three towers of differing heights linked by glass-roofed atria.

The £42 million complex, which is both Passivhaus certified and a holder of the BREEAM Certificate of Excellence, posed a significant rainwater drainage challenge during construction, meaning bespoke components were specified to cope with the cascading run-off.

Complex drainage design

Due to the building’s status as a medical facility, the roof drainage design had to meet a Category 3 standard, which dictates that rainwater systems must have capacity for exceptionally high levels of rainfall.

Combined with the building’s unusual roof structure, this meant that specially wide and long rainwater chutes had to be developed, which included roof membrane clamping flanges and which penetrated the parapet wall configuration.

The bespoke solution also included tailor made hoppers and downpipes. Additionally, some of the rainwater pipework intended to be run internally had to be diverted to drain outside the building before transferring to internal drainage.

Bespoke solution

Marley Alutec collaborated closely with the architects and roofing contractor to provide all flow calculations and matrices for the complex cascading roof system, much to the delight of Briggsamasco Project Supervisor, Duncan Philibin.

He commented: “As the main roofing contractor responsible for the waterproofing, capping, green roof and rainwater system installation, we were in constant communication with Marley Alutec’s technical department and the architects.

During the pre-design meetings it was clear that Marley Alutec were very knowledgeable and their expertise made our job much easier. Equally, working with aluminium products, particularly at height, was preferable as they’re extremely lightweight yet offer the durability required.”

Manufactured from marine grade aluminium, all of Marley Alutec’s products that were installed have a life expectancy of at least 50 years and are “virtually maintenance free”, reducing life cycle costs and any disruption to the building’s operation.

The products are completely recyclable at the end of their lifespan, contributing towards the building’s BREEAM certification. It is estimated that 75 percent of all aluminium ever produced is still in circulation today.