Timber Project: Leicester - Highcross Mall

Features

• Complex sloping ceiling design, curved in plan and in section
• Over 650 different sizes of prefabricated panels
• Concealed fixing details
• Slatted ceiling system in western red cedar
• Covered but not enclosed location
• Fire treated to Class 0 surface Spread of Flame

This is a complex ceiling with two inwardly-curving skylight areas which joins new and established shopping malls. It is curved in cross section and there is a slope between the buildings.

To meet this challenge, the BCL design team came up with over 650 different sizes of slatted ceiling panels, all manufactured off-site over a period of eight weeks. Using prefabricated panels allowed for a tight installation schedule of six weeks.

Using traditional installation techniques, completion of the ceiling would have taken about 18 weeks. Prefabrication is a key advantage when there are tight deadlines.

Choice of materials was important because although the mall ceiling forms part of
enclosed space it is not heated and is therefore subject to fluctuations in temperature and humidity. The choice of fire treated western red cedar provided a durable and aesthetically pleasing solution.