NOMA is the acronymic title for a far reaching and forward-looking phased development in Northern Manchester, conceived by developers Federated Hermes MEPC to create an £800 million mixed use new quarter amidst the North West’s most vibrant city. Intended as an exemplar for future larger projects, in both design and environmental potential, the marketing suite has been designed to be fully demountable and relocatable to other planned locations as the wider development evolves.
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Designed by architect Simpson Haugh and delivered on behalf of the client MEPC and the main contractor Bowmer and Kirkland, specialist timber subcontractor B&K Structures was awarded the contract to design, supply and install the single storey structure which, by employing innovative sherpa brackets, can be quickly and easily disassembled and re-erected elsewhere. Incredibly early in the design process, the project team determined that the NOMA Pavilion should prioritise the use of structural timber as the primary form of construction to make full use of the technical advantages offered by offsite technology.
These include much greater certainty over delivery dates, costs, build time and accuracy as well as the demount ability potential and characteristic appeal of exposed cross laminated timber (CLT). NOMA Pavilion’s CLT was delivered by B&K Structures with supply chain partner Stora Enso, using 100% PEFC certified European grown timber - maximising BREEAM points while also offering excellent stability, thermal, acoustic, airtightness qualities alongside other attributes. Along with a quantity of glulam beams, the CLT facilitated a very rapid build schedule which saw structural completion achieved in just seven working days once the ground floor slab was cured.
The offsite-fabricated timber package totalled 75m3 of CLT, together with 3.66 m3 of glulam beams, forming the entire above ground structure which featured CLT wall panels and a CLT roof. The latter comprised a dozen 160mm thick panels, spanning a full six metres to create a spacious interior, and supporting a parapet of 100mm thick panels detailed to facilitate moisture control. This project not only targets the highest BREEAM rating but additionally integrates principles of a circular economy into the design, dramatically cutting waste and sacrificial materials, and ensuring longevity – designed for the re-use of the materials. Timber’s inherent carbon sequestration qualities support the circular economy’s goal of minimising environmental impact, while the durability of the engineered and prefabricated CLT and glulam elements reduce the need for frequent replacements or demolitions, promoting resource efficiency and extending the lifespan.
Anthony Campbell, Associate Partner at Simpson Haugh:
“The NOMA Pavilion can be considered unique in that it has targeted BREEAM Outstanding for a demountable building. It works perfectly for the site and in terms of what the client wanted for the programme. It was always intended that it should be erected very quickly - and is a showcase for the masterplan.
We worked with B&K Structures on the design of the components and the method of assembly to ensure all the fixings remained accessible and easily removable. There was a lot of product development and thought about avoiding the use of internal linings or anything else which could not be taken apart and reused. We really liked the aesthetic of the CLT finish internally which meant we could minimise the use of ‘sacrificial’ materials such as plasterboard.”
Importantly, the design prioritises a straightforward deconstruction process that preserves the integrity of the elements and materials, yielding retained components of exceptional quality and high reusability. In practice, with all screws and dowels easily removeable, all slabs, beams and columns can be lifted out and moved. Overall, NOMA Pavilion will provide quality contributions to the circular economy. While the pavilion is a small-scale building compared to other engineered timber structures, the fact that it has been purpose-built to highlight both the demount ability and sustainable benefits of structural timber make it is a trailblazer for other future large-scale projects.