Translating natural elements into state-of-the-art façade solutions is the key to construction service provider James & Taylor's latest project to house Edinburgh Zoo's chimpanzees.

The Senses Timber rainscreen system, made from sustainable Tropical Black Sucupira, was conceived and designed by James & Taylor to allow the use of timber facades on the most challenging construction projects and provides a fitting façade for the chimps' new enclosure.

Bob James, Managing Director of James & Taylor comments: "The chimp enclosure provides the perfect setting for this innovative rainscreen system, which helps place the chimps closer to the environment from which they originally came.

"Our approach to timber façades introduces opportunities for architects and their clients to use natural timber in new and dynamic ways to create the façades of the future, rather than relying on the primitive technologies that currently exist."

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The façade concept is based on the geological strata of the site. The site is very steep and has exposed rock outcrops, which the building echoes in its layered build up. Unusually, the cladding is placed at an angle to contrast with the angle of the site, making the building more dynamic in expression and increasing its apparent scale. The angle also echoes the geological strata of the nearby Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh.

Alan Hardie at Cooper Cromar Architects comments on the enclosure's form: "The building form is of three pods cutting through a folding roof. These pods are conceived as rock outcrops and the façade treatment is an abstract representation of geological stratification. The external materials have been kept simple and Senses Timber was chosen because of its natural appearance, which seemed to complement the ethos of the zoo."

The rainscreen system combines short, tightly toleranced plank lengths with the precision of the renowned Alphaton terracotta rainscreen system. Its strength is that it allows individual planks to expand and contract while being securely restrained in position.

The timber is managed for sustainability by the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures that the forest and woodland environment is protected and enhanced for future generations.

James & Taylor is also supplying the project with its ceramic black polished rainscreen system in 1200 x 600mm format size. The new 1400m2 facility will allow the public to get close to the chimps.

(GK/JM)