University Library Green Facade Retrofit

Retrofit study for an oxidised-copper landmark library: repairing the patinated facade panels and extending the climbing-plant support grid across the new wing.

Situation

The library's famous green copper skin was weathering unevenly, and the planted trellis system had outgrown its fixings.

Action

We mapped every facade panel's condition into the model, prototyped replacement fixings for the vegetation grid, and phased the work around the academic calendar.

Results

The retrofit keeps the building's identity intact — patina, plants and all — while renewing the substructure for another thirty years.

Photography: Haydn Blackey from Cardiff, Wales — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.