Panel Systems has been selected by the City of Edinburgh Council, to supply its market-leading timber clad panels to a unique new £1.3m Social Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties (SEBD) school, situated in the city’s western borough of Gorgie.

Cedar cladding was specified by architect Anderson Bell Christie, which wanted to create a durable and attractive exterior for the new building. 150m2 of the cedar cladding was installed to provide an attractive natural look to the classroom’s exterior.

A spokesperson from Nortek, the Window contractors on this project, explains: “The Gorgie School is a unique development that will cater for the special requirements of children from Edinburgh and the surrounding area. The cedar-clad panels not only make the building look attractive and welcoming, but as a sustainable building product, is an excellent way to improve its thermal performance. As the cedar was pre-fabricated to the panel face, it saved us a great deal of time as we were able to install them quickly and easily into the window system.”

Environmentally friendly, attractive and durable, Cedar clad panels are perfect for almost all building projects that require both excellent thermal performance and naturally appealing aesthetics. The natural preservative in Cedar ensures it is an especially durable timber, which gives it an effective life of up to 60 years.

Currently one of the most popular timbers for building applications, Cedar has a high impermeability to water and an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio (less than one tenth of other roofing products). Its natural resistance to the elements also ensures that the minimum of maintenance is required.

Danny Phelan, Sales Manager at Panel Systems, explains: “This was a great development to be involved in. The Gorgie School will provide essential support to children with behavioural difficulties from across the region. We are delighted our cedar panels have been chosen to help the school meet the latest environmental requirements, as well as providing stunning aesthetics.

The school is unique in that it involved the creation of a number of teaching ‘pods’, which comprise two teaching spaces and a shared social area. These ‘pods’ extend from the main body of the school to enclose individual courtyards and are designed specifically for those children that have difficulties with large open spaces.

Other materials available for fabrication by Panel Systems include aluminium, steel, larch and oak.

Panel Systems is one of the UK’s leading fabricators of insulation products, composite panels, structural foams and flexible staging systems.

Email: marina@dragonflypr.co.uk