The exterior of the 271-apartment development, nicknamed as ‘Vermillion,’ is clad in graduated stripes of differing shades of red.

The development boasts a total of 2,000 m2 of powder coated Sotech Optima FC rainscreen, including faceted and curved panels, coated in five contrasting shades of red.

The largest panel is 1,400mm wide while the smallest is 300mm wide, achieving a random yet striking graduated appearance across the south and west facing facades.

In addition over 6,000 m2 of anodised aluminium Optima FC rainscreen panels, each 775m x 1,500m, provide a contrasting appearance to the feature towers and plant rooms.

Instead of painting individual panels in a series of gradient stripes, 2mm gaps were left between each one of the different coloured panels to achieve the required level of colour gradation across the complete facade.

The standard gap was maintained at the main module positions, with all joints supported by Sotech’s FC carrier.

By reducing the shadowgap, each panel was coated in a single colour rather than a series of graduated stripes, reducing production costs.

The Optima FC rainscreen systems were installed from the top of the building towards the bottom, deviating from the traditional format of installing it from the base to the top. This was done to enable the scaffold to be removed, reducing the potential for damage to the façade by others.

The FC hook system, manufactured in-house by Sotech, was redesigned to facilitate this development as the hook under pressure is generally the most critical component in any system.

With the demanding performance requirements for rainscreen, independent testing of the total through wall construction was undertaken at the Vinci Test Centre in Watford, following which, apertures were cut from the backing wall to enable Sotech to carry out specific rainscreen tests which were witnessed and approved by CWCT.

The rainscreen was successfully tested to three different wind load categories dependent on location and height. The highest category requirement was 2.32 which Sotech exceeded, meeting 2.4kNsqm positive and negative serviceability and 3.6 kNsqm for safety.

Vermillion was undertaken by English Cities Fund, a joint venture between Muse Developments, Legal and General Property and Homes & Communities Agency in partnership with London Borough of Newham.