Supplied by James Latham, Accoya was chosen for a new office building to house 60 people on the edge of Saxmundham. Designed by Nicholas Hare Architects, the decision was taken to focus on two aspects of greenness: in the selection of materials and energy economy, targeting an EPC ‘A’ rating, and following Passivhaus principles. Accoya was selected for its environmental credentials as well as its stability and class 1 durability. The external wall cladding uses vertical Accoya tongued-and-grooved strips and the roof cladding uses pre-patinated zinc.

Lathams Group Cladding and Decking Manager, Richard Mosson explained: “Accoya is rapidly becoming a more popular solution for cladding buildings in the UK and most (nearly all) are coated as coatings last considerably longer when using Accoya, plus, the colour is very much in vogue. However, Accoya, when left to weather naturally is perfectly ok as it has Class 1 durability and unrivalled dimensional stability, a good size case study will really assist in helping other Architects specify the wood without a coating.” The images shown here were taken when the cladding had been installed for 9 months and weathering is underway.

The building was the winner of the Large New Building Award at the Suffolk Association of Architects Awards 2017 and is a finalist at the 2017 East Anglia LABC Building Excellence Awards.

In July 2022 we revisited Christies Care Home to see how the uncoated Accoya cladding had weathered. Fives years on from installation, the cladding looks superb. The Accoya has weathered evenly, now appearing grey which looks great from from all angles.

The Accoya wood was also examined up close. Some areas could do with a light clean, but overall the wood is in prime condition, living up to it exceptional warranty.