Chill Factore

FaulknerBrowns, Manchester, 2007

 

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The main indoor ski slope at the Chill Factore 

Phillip Handforth (website)     Download Original

  • The main indoor ski slope at the Chill Factore    
  • The two-storey warmside zone overlooks the slopes    
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  • Bundles of polished glass strips create restaurant screens    
  •     
  • Chill Factore 35    
  • The entrance area was envisioned as a warm alpine streetscape containing bars, restaurants and shops    
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  • The roof is Keybemo stucco-embossed aluminium standing seam sheet, which has tongue-and-groove-style locking with secret fixing    
  • The translucent overcladding is backlit by night and reveals the structural depth of the construction    
  • Exterior view by day    
  • Exterior view by day    
  • Exterior view by day    
  • Aerial view of the site    
  • Level one plan    
  • Level two plan    
  • East elevation    
  • West elevation    
  • North elevation    
  • South elevation    
  • The main ski slope comprises a propped cantilever, supported by a steel framework of Prisma Zeus-coated Corus profiled sheeting, with a Kalzip-clad escape stair attached    
  • Aerial view of the construction site revealing the building’s steel frame    
  • Materials board, including Cedar, Larch and Swedish Fifth Fir timber elements, as well as translucent wall overcladding in raspberry red and sky blue    

Indoor ski slope, including a main slope, learners slope and toboggan run alongside a warm-side zone containing bars, restaurants and shops

The aim of the project was to provide Manchester with its first indoor ski slope.

The main slope cantilevers up and out over the site, measuring 176m long and 40m wide. Alongside the run is a 52m-long learners’ slope of similar width, with a 20m-wide, 58m-long toboggan-only hill in between. Where the slopes hit the ground there is a two-level warmside zone, with tickets sales, equipment hire and changing facilities at ground floor level.

At first floor level of the warmside zone are bars and restaurants overlooking the ski slope beyond the glass, whose walls are covered with giant transfers of Alpine scenery. There are ski lifts on either side of the main slopes, while on the learner slope is an inclined travelator. The warmside zone is reached from the car park and main entrance via a cranked shopping street.

Data

  • Begun: Jan 2006
  • Completed: Nov 2007
  • Floor area: 23,225m2
  • Sectors: Sports and leisure, Retail
  • Total cost: £25M
  • Funding: -
  • Procurement: JCT Standard
  • CO2 Emissions: -kg/m2/year
  • Address: Trafford Way, Trafford Quays Leisure Village, Manchester, M41 7JA, United Kingdom

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