Musical studies is a topic growing increasingly in demand on the Faroe Islands. To meet this need, a new and contemporary music school was planned near Tórshavn, the capital of this archipelago, specially created for children and young people.
The concept of the building is quite disruptive: it evokes two different-size stones, lying next to each other. The cladding material had to live up to this design and the conception team had to get down to work right away.
“The decision was easy, slate doesn’t have any maintenance requirements. In addition, it has a special quality of expressing excess and elegance”, recalls Mayfinn Norðoy, architect at Kontrast.
The larger building hosts the music school, the passers-by can even see the pupils inside playing their instruments. Here, the green window frames are simulate stained moss on a stone.
The ‘smaller stone’ part of the building houses the concert hall, which has a capacity for 300 spectators. The idea here was to recreate nature, where grass grows on top of the stones, so this building has both slate and turf roofs.
“Slate is suitable for both façade and roof, which was important because we wanted a monolith with the same material on all surfaces”, explains the architect. Natural slate can last for up to a century when it is installed properly by a professional slater.
CUPA PIZARRAS has a team of experts on the ground to help our customers in every step of the project, even in the most unlikely places. The team of architects stressed the “good communication” between all the parties involved.
No other construction material has the characteristics of natural slate, which also has the unique property of reflecting the changing weather of the Islands. “When is wet, it becomes black and glossy, when it is dry it becomes lighter and matte. When the sun shines, there is a big difference between the sunny and the shaded side, and the stone reflects the sun”, explains Mayfinn Norðoy.
“When the snow falls and the frost comes, the slate is again completely different with white edges and frosty lines”, he continues. “In other words, you can read the weather by looking at the slate façade”.
PRODUCT USED: CUPACLAD®
The CUPACLAD® 101 LOGIC rainscreen cladding system gives any facade balance, combines ideally with other materials and flaunts natural slate’s texture and sheen.
Other case studies
More than 250 roofs are installed per day around the world with our slate.
Natural slate CUPA PIZARRAS has been highly valued by architects and has been selected for important projects within many cultural and historic buildings of interest, modern architecture or the construction or renovation of traditional housing.
Other case studies
More than 250 roofs are installed per day around the world with our slate.
Natural slate CUPA PIZARRAS has been highly valued by architects and has been selected for important projects within many cultural and historic buildings of interest, modern architecture or the construction or renovation of traditional housing.
If you have any questions, our experienced team on slate is at your disposal.
