Julia Dawson explores the great outside.

501 GKD 

Shanghai's motor-racing circuit by Aachen architect Hermann Tilke, the most expensive Formula One racing track in the world, has taken just 18 months to build. The circuit will be inaugurated in China's first ever Grand Prix on 26 September 2004. Aesthetic quality and functionality were the decisive criteria for the choice of materials. To clad the concrete of the grandstands, the architects were looking for a material, permeable to light and air, fulfilling fire prevention regulations and providing a high degree of optical aesthetics. GKD was commissioned to produce the back and side cladding of the main grandstand facade and the rear cladding of the two secondary grandstands. The rear facades form the representative main entrance for spectators. The Tigris mesh has a practically unlimited service life, is fire-resistant, easy to clean, recyclable and gives robust protection against the natural elements. Further advantages of the material are its resistance to vandalism and the fact that it is maintenance-free. 157 elements up to 30m long and 7.7m wide clad the facades of the Shanghai International Circuit.

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502 GKD

The latest construction phase of Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium by Madrid architects Estudio Carlos Lamela is due to be completed in 2005. The stadium's capacity will be about 80 000, and there are increased press and media facilities, a congress and event centre as well as two restaurants, an enlarged VIP area with access via eight ultra-modern lifts, and a club museum. The architects used stainless-steel wire mesh made by GKD. The textile-like structure of CreativeWEAVE[R], the woven metallic architectural fabric manufactured by this technical weaving mill, transforms constructional elements into an elegant, shimmering integral component of the whole building complex while reflecting the surrounding environment in light, colours and movement. Through its two-dimensionality, the spiral mesh used in the stadium. Escale 7 X 1, combines visual dynamism with three-dimensional grace. The clarity of projected images is also due to the large surface area of the 7mm wide stainless-steel spirals. The facade, covering a total of 3300[m.sup.2], acts like a curtain which allows the onlooker to identify the schematic outlines of the game going on behind it, while functioning as a fascinating screen for crystal-clear projection of adverts and films. In this way, the representative signpost is transformed into a communicative entrance for the streams of fans flowing into the stadium.

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503 SHACKERLEY

Shackerley has helped Boyes Rees Architects to realize a design concept for a new state of the art Digital Technium building, developed to foster the growth of the digital economy in Wales. Working closely with the Newport architect and main contractors, E. Turner & Sons of Cardiff, Shackerley procured and prefabricated 1000[m.sup.2] of polished ceramic granite slabs in a bespoke colourway for this [pounds sterling]4.3million landmark building at the University of Swansea. The original material specification called for the building's dramatic spine wall to be clad in slate. When the university called for the project to be value engineered. Shackerley proposed the use of 1200mm X 600mm polished ceramic granite slabs as an alternative way to preserve the visual design concept, at a fraction of the cost. Shackerley procured a bespoke black reflective slab with a dark grey vein, now known as 'Swansea Black', for the project: 1388 of these hardwearing, lightweight and impermeable ceramic granite panels were used on the exterior of the spine wall and also on the interior walls of the entrance hall and atrium providing visual continuity.

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