Forte 4

Forte Health is a private medical facility in Christchurch.  Sitting at the corner of Colombo and Kilmore, the building adds to their presence in the City and features a unique facade made up of perforated aluminium fins covering approximately 405 square metres across the Southern & Western elevations..  

The geometric pattern of the design is cleverly overlaid against the glazing behind, effectively creating different sized and shaped windows.  This effect is enhanced even further by the window frames with their multiple horizontal and vertical lines.  The perforated fins do offer a degree of shading and privacy.  However, their main use is most certainly aesthetic and to make the building stand out in an area where it competes for attention with multiple new structures erected as part of the on-going earthquake rebuild, which has become partly characterised by Wilson & Hill designs. 

We developed a custom dapple pattern for the fins, which was tested in the Insol Wind Tunnel owing to the high potential for wind-induced noise.  They were then finished in a Duratec powdercoat and fitted on RHS sub frames to form a twin-skinned modular ‘fin’, which was then connected 500mm off the building face, allowing for maintenance and window cleaning. This sounds quite straightforward but was actually rather complicated owing to the complex load paths.

Lifting the network of panels away from the building adds a visual depth and increases the interplay of light and shade as the sun is reflected and casts shadows.  This becomes even more apparent as you walk or drive past the facade, the 500 mm gap between the fins and building face being enough to introduce a sort of parallax scrolling effect, making the building come alive with movement.  

The completed Forte Health building showcases one of the most distinctive uses of perforated fins we’ve been involved with.  By creating multiple horizontal and vertical surfaces away from the building face, the aesthetic changes as you move past it and as the sun makes its way across the daytime sky.  Rounding the corner from Colombo to Kilmore becomes a show and makes Forte Health one of those landmark buildings people are destined to navigate by.

Architect  Wilson & Hill      Contractor  Consortium Construction           

Location  Christchurch