Corten Steel for Compound at Ashton Old Baths Data Centre

Built in 1870, Ashton Old Baths is a Grade II listed building. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council saw its planned transformation into a business hub and data centre as an original idea for heritage sites which could be transferred to many other ‘at risk’ buildings.

The primary concern for the project was to create a sympathetic dialogue between the historic and the modern.

Lang+Fulton were approached by the architect to provide an appropriate solution for a compound to surround and screen the unsightly sub-station, data centre generators, and cooling plant that were required to service the new complex. Their Corten louvred panels, made from weathering steel was selected to match the tonal qualities of the original red brick façade of the Victorian bath house and preserve the sensitive context of the site.

The Italia/80 Corten panels sit between an expressed steel framework, which was hot-dip galvanized before polyester powder coating in a dark grey to reference the regeneration of the site to the area’s industrial past. The continuous structure creates 80% visual screening and the robust steel louvres provide excellent security.

The compound was supplied with double-leaf and tri-fold gates to provide the required access.

The Leader of Tameside Council said: “Bringing Ashton Old Baths back into use is a significant achievement and I am really proud of the way in which the council, working with our partners including PlaceFirst and MCAU, Tameside Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, AGMA and the European Regional Development Fund have breathed life back into this fantastic building.’’

Architect : MCAU (Modern City Architecture + Urbanism)

Product: Italia/80 Corten

Awards:
Global Data Centre Architecture Award 2021.
Data Centre Design & Build Project of the Year – Electric Review and Data Centre Review Awards 2022
Refurbishment Project of the Year – Building Awards 2022 (finalist)