‘The distinctive patina will continue to develop naturally, responding to the local environmental conditions of this coastal location’

A new headquarters building in Arklow, Ireland, is defined by its distinctive Nordic Blue Living 3 pre-patinated copper profile reflecting its coastal location. 

Having outgrown their existing premises, Arklow Shipping commissioned Dublin-based DMOD Architects to design a new building, connecting town and sea.  DMOD explored various architectural options at different locations around Arklow’s North Docklands before a brownfield site was selected that offered various benefits. Although the site faces the coast, at ground level sea views are obscured by the adjacent sea defence wall. Therefore, the design concept utilises a functional logistics element as a podium, lifting the office floors above to optimise sea views with generous glazing.

The building is conceived as a landmark pavilion set on a landscaped plinth, visible throughout the docklands. Its long, horizontal, extruded form is clad in standing seam copper, with stone piers and large picture windows to the sides and fully glazed open ends. The aqua-blue/green pre-patinated copper cladding frames the building and presents a saw-tooth profile suggesting waves breaking on the shoreline.

Copper is particularly well-established in coastal locations, with its durability without maintenance and resistance to corrosion in virtually any atmospheric conditions – including exposed saline environments. This is due to the natural development of a protective patina in the environment which can eventually result in the distinctive green patina seen on older roofs – and taking on more of a blue hue in marine environments.

But the Aurubis Nordic Blue, Nordic Green and Nordic Turquoise ranges provide these patinas straightaway, with properties and colours based on the same brochantite mineralogy found in natural patinas all over the world. As well as solid patina colours, living surfaces are available for each with various intensities of patina flecks revealing some of the dark oxidised background material, such as the Nordic Blue Living 3 used at Arklow. Here, the distinctive patina will continue to develop naturally, responding to the local environmental conditions of this coastal location.