The Balancing Barn stands on the edge of a tranquil nature reserve a few miles inland from the Suffolk coast, near the historic towns of Walberswick and Aldeburgh.

Clad in elegant silver tiles, with walls and roof covered in 0.5mm thick Grade 1.4404, 316L Uginox Bright stainless steel by Aperam Stainless Steel Europe. Working in closely with UK based Mole Architects of Cambridge Aperam SSE provided assistance with samples to assist the design and planning approval procedure.

The Balancing Barn is a cantilevered holiday home for clients Living Architecture, a British organization devoted to making architecture an experience, who have a series of outstanding holiday homes in the UK. The building, which is 3O metres long, balances over a descending grassed slope at its midpoint leaving 50% projecting into free space, all made possible by the rigid structure. The beauty of the ever changing Suffolk skies and landscape are reflected in the Uginox Bright surface rejoicing in the season’s colours and moods. Roof and walls are covered using a traditional technique of interlocking stainless steel shingles which are individually secured using secret fixings providing robust and easy clean surface. Specialist contractor CEL from Peterborough undertook the project.

The building incorporates four double bedrooms, each with separate bathroom and WC. At the centre of the barn is a hidden staircase providing access to the garden beneath. At opposite ends are the kitchen and large living space. All rooms have full height sliding windows giving wonderful views.

The advantages of stainless steel:

• Its bright surface finish reflects the evolving colour of the day and of the seasons
• A suitable aspect for this type of contemporary architecture
• An easy implementation of shingles providing robustness to the facade
• A smooth low roughness for easy maintenance
• A grade (316L) suitable for marine atmosphere

The Musée des Confluences is a science centre and anthropology museum opened in 2014 in Lyon, France.

It is also a stunning example of the beauty and agility of stainless steel. This already iconic building, designed by Austrian architects, Coop Himmelb(l)au, represents the union of a glass crystal and a stainless steel cloud. It is the use of a layer of stainless steel to cover the cloud that allows it to reflect light and colour; encapsulating echoes of the sky and the city, as well as the water and the greenery.

Beauty and agility at work, this combination of cladding along with the stark shape of the building gives Musée des Confluences its stealthy appearance that may be accentuated under its shell or diluted in the light, creating the impression of a solid behemoth or a soft cloud.

If you happen to be in the Austrian village of Asten, you simply can’t help but notice the shiny, futuristic PANEUM building. The four-story building was commissioned by Backaldrin, a local flour and baking ingredients company, to house its information center, exhibition venue and even a museum on the history of bread.

Designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, the building is comprised of two structures stacked on top of one another. The lower ‘box’ is made of bare concrete and houses the entrance and special event space.

This contrast strikingly with the metallic bubble that floats on top and houses the main exhibition galleries. Called the ‘Wunderkammer des Brotes’, this top level is comprised of a glue laminated timber structure cladded with Aperam Stainless Steel shingles (Aperam 316L bead blasted, 1mm thickness), which give the building its iconic shine.

Opened in 2017, the exhibition brings the history of bread to life through a collection of over 1,200 objects that date back 9,000 years.

The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology is one of the world’s leading research institutes. The scientists are working to advance understanding of biological processes at the molecular level providing the knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health. The £200m project forms part of the newly-expanded Cambridge Biomedical Campus at Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge.

The stainless steel cladding to four services towers have created a dramatic feature for the new building. Uginox Top, a low reflective stainless steel surface was specified by the project architect.

Approximately 14,000m² of interlocking shingles clad the towers which house all heavy plant servicing the building. The towers are linked to the main laboratory building rather than attached to it in order to remove weight and sources of vibration.

Durable surface

A 0.7mm thick Uginox Top was chosen for its flat matt surface aesthetic and high corrosion resistance.
Uginox Top has a fixed rolled on surface which requires only minimal maintenance.

The stainless steel advantages for this building:

• A low thermal expansion coefficient
• A high resistance to corrosion
• A traditional work setting
• A surface finish in harmony with contemporary architecture

The construction of the new Palace of Justice in Antwerp is the result of an international architectural competition.

The contract was awarded to the Richard Rogers Partnership team in association with Ove Arup and VK Studio offices who proposed an efficient, subtle and transparent building with a powerful symbolic image.

These “sail” roofs are the architectural focal point of the project. An extensive design study was necessary to determine the type of materials and construction methods required for these roofs. For example, wind tunnel studies were needed to determine the loads incurred during extreme weather. Each of the 32 roof modules is formed from four prefabricated quarters, that are then assembled on-site with a system of bolts. The geometric shape traced by these quarters is a hyperbolic paraboloid. This method simplifies the structural assembly and the fabrication of the components. Glued and laminated timber beams disposed on a frame in line with the straight lines of the sails and are mounted onto a tubular steel frame. Then three layers of planks are successively screwed on to form the shell.

The final roof covering is achieved with strips of 316L stainless-steel with Uginox Matt coating. Several technical constraints have pushed the designers towards this type of material: Natural durability, particularly when a site is exposed to maritime influences, the possibility of using welding techniques, complex geometry with either little or no angles in some places and extreme slants in others, lack of access for maintenance and of course; the visual aspect and colour.

To obtain a perfectly water-tight installation, the stainless-steel sheets are welded in a continuous seam using an automatic machine, thus creating an almost monolithic surface.