From roofs to floors in hotels, castles, museums and visitor centres, Welsh Slate delivers, whatever the project.

Few building materials are as capable of being used in a variety of applications as natural slate. Externally, the material can be used for roofing, cladding, paving, cills and copings, walling and landscaping. Internally, it can be employed as wall and floor tiles, worktops, fire surrounds and hearths.

The use of Welsh Slate in three areas of the new £21m Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park (see February issue of AT), is the latest example of how the material lends itself to an unparalleled range of exterior and interior functions.

Ryder Architecture specified Welsh Slate for the three-storey 5,840-square-metre building. “The primary aim was to provide a building of dignified quality commensurate with the importance of the site and its use, as well as a robust structure that required, wherever possible, minimal maintenance”, says project architect Alastair Forbes. “The quality of the materials proposed was critical to the success of the project.”

Welsh Slate’s Penrhyn Heather Blue roof slates are complemented by a cladding veneer of the same colour over the outer facade layer of ‘protective’ eaves and bedroom terraces. Penrhyn Heather Blue also features as walling on a large internal chimney hearth.

Slate flooring was specified by Purcell for the refurbishment of a gallery at the British Museum in London. Various sizes of Welsh Slate Cwt Y Bugail Dark Blue Grey floor slates in a fine rubbed finish were installed in the Middle Room – one of the oldest rooms in Sir Robert Smirke’s Georgian museum – providing a smooth sheen. “The Welsh Slate flooring was specified to match historic finishes within the museum”, explains Purcell partner Elizabeth Smith. “It also provides a durable and beautiful finish. We work on lots of historic and listed British buildings and Welsh Slate is a regular feature in these.”

Purcell also specified Welsh Slate roof slates, walling and floor tiles for multiple aspects of the £12.5m redevelopment of Cardigan Castle in Wales. Penrhyn Heather Blue slates were used to re-roof Castle Green House, Ty Castell and The Stables, while Cwt Y Bugail Dark Blue Grey cleaved walling clads the interior and exterior walls of ‘1176’ – a new 70-cover restaurant that cantilevers out over the castle walls. Here, the coursed walling is complemented by Cwt Y Bugail Dark Blue Grey floor tiles, which are echoed in nine new bathrooms in the East Wing guest accommodation and Green Street Cottages visitor centre. “We specified Welsh Slate to match the existing slate on site but also because it was historically appropriate and good quality”, says project architect Izaak Hudson.

Welsh Slate was used as a cladding and roofing material on Foster & Partners’ five-star ME London hotel, which was redeveloped from the former Citibank building in the Strand. Cwt Y Bugail Dark Blue Grey slate with a fine rubbed finish was used to clad the facade, as well as the curved and straight copings to the eighth and ninth floors and parapets. In addition, Penrhyn Heather Blue slates feature on the roof.

Elements from almost all of Welsh Slate’s product portfolio were specified for a landmark visitors’ centre in Snowdonia. Bespoke sizes of Penrhyn Heather Blue roofing slates were selected by Dewis Architecture for the roof of the new BREEAM Excellent-rated Ogwen Valley visitors centre in the Cwm Idwal area of the National Park.

These were complemented by Penrhyn Heather Blue floor tiles throughout the building, Cwt Y Bugail cladding to the external and internal walls, and traditional “crawiau” slate slabs to the external boundary walls. In addition, hardstanding from glacial boulders was sawn to form 80mm thick slabs, which were then flame-textured for improved slip-resistance.

The former warden’s office/garage/workshop and snack bar, which was originally built in the 1970s and attracts 125,000 visitors every year, has been transformed into a landmark centre featuring an office, interpretation space, changing areas and food kiosk.

“The site is subject to extremes of weather so longevity of material specification was of paramount importance”, explains Gareth Moriarty Owen of Dewis Architecture. “But we also specified Welsh Slate because of the quality of the material, its environmental benefits and the specialist knowledge and advice. I personally would not specify alternatively sourced roofing slates from any other location, China or Spain, as in my view they are vastly inferior and do not have the same weathering characteristics.”

Contact Details
For further information please visit the Welsh Slate website, email or call on 01248 600656.

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