Architects Cooper Cromar specified stainless steel shingles for the 80,000 sq. ft. façade of Glasgow Fort retail park’s £45m Marks and Spencer store. Described by the architects as ‘an elegant stainless steel-clad box’, the store is located to the south of the park, its frontage forming a distinctive new entrance feature when approached from the motorway. The stainless steel is 0.6mm thick and is estimated as having saved around 18 tonnes in façade weight over an equivalent in zinc or copper.

The project brief was to closely match the existing building dating from 2006 so a 2K finish, one of the smoothest polished finishes, was selected. Its low surface roughness prevents accumulation of fine contaminants and formation of organic growth while providing a standard of corrosion resistance which is ideal for aggressive environments.