Siderise delivers fire integrity for NaturAL X façades in Birmingham

Siderise solution supports NaturAL X brick façades

Siderise has partnered with Ash & Lacy to provide a tested passive fire protection solution for the NaturAL X Brick Cladding System on Vita Student Gough Street in Birmingham.

According to Siderise, the student accommodation development is located at the Gough Street and Suffolk Street junction and is being built in response to demand for purpose-built student housing in the city.

The scheme is due to complete in summer 2026 and will comprise high quality apartments and shared spaces across two towers of 10 and 29 storeys.

Project elevations use a masonry brick appearance alongside curtain wall glazing to bring daylight into the building.

The project team selected Ash & Lacy’s NaturAL X Brick Cladding System, a lightweight mechanically fixed brick slip solution, instead of traditional masonry.

Siderise said the approach allows the building to retain the durability and visual character of brick while using rainscreen techniques that reduce cost, installation time, labour needs and space requirements compared with conventional construction.

To meet regulatory fire performance requirements and support a safe environment for future residents, Siderise was asked to design a passive fire protection solution that could demonstrate a two hour fire integrity rating for the façades.

Project specific fire testing at Siderise Innovation Centre

Siderise explained that its RH Horizontal and RV Vertical Cavity Barriers were re-engineered for use with mechanically fixed ventilated brick slip cladding system configurations.

To verify compatibility with the NaturAL X Brick Cladding System on Vita Student Gough Street, Siderise carried out project specific fire resistance tests at its Innovation Centre in Maesteg.

Testing used a representative wall build up and drew on several relevant standards identified for the project.

The company reported that the Siderise passive fire protection system achieved an E 120 and I 60 fire resistance rating during these assessments.

This performance met the project’s two hour integrity requirement and exceeded the results recorded for competing products.

For the curtain wall sections of the building envelope, the Siderise CW-FS120 Firestop was specified to provide two hours of fire resistance at the perimeter movement joint.

This was intended to maintain compartmentation around the slab edge, helping to limit fire spread between floors at the junction between the curtain wall and the floor structure.

Cavity barrier design supports build efficiency

Siderise stated that combining the NaturAL X Brick Cladding System with Siderise RH25 Horizontal and RV25 Vertical Brick Slip Cavity Barriers contributed to a quick and methodical installation process on site.

The RV25 Vertical Cavity Barriers use a lamella core that has been tested to show that it can operate under increased compression.

Because of this tested behaviour, the system did not require intumescent pads to be installed vertically between each support rail.

Siderise said this configuration reduced material use by removing those additional components.

The reduced component count also helped to streamline installation activities, allowing contractors to make full use of the time saving properties associated with brick slip cladding.

Site services guide installation of Siderise products

Siderise Site Services provided ongoing practical support to the installation teams working on Vita Student Gough Street.

According to the company, this included delivery of product installation training sessions before and during construction.

Siderise teams also installed benchmark areas on the project to establish reference examples for how the firestops and cavity barriers should be detailed.

These activities were followed by regular visits to the site to inspect the installation of the CW-FS120 Firestop and the RH25 and RV25 Brick Slip Cavity Barriers.

Siderise said these inspections checked that the products were being installed in line with its recommendations.

The site visits also aimed to confirm that installation matched the configuration that had been tested at the Siderise Innovation Centre.

Relevance for cladding designers and site teams

The Vita Student Gough Street project brings together a lightweight brick slip façade, curtain wall glazing and a tested passive fire protection package designed for a two hour fire integrity requirement.

For architects, fire engineers and building services engineers working on tall student accommodation or similar multi storey residential schemes, the example shows how project specific testing can be used to align cavity barrier design with a particular brick slip system and façade build up.

For façade contractors, fire-protection contractors and system installers, the use of Siderise RH25 and RV25 Brick Slip Cavity Barriers and CW-FS120 Firestop illustrates how product selection, lamella core compression performance and the removal of intumescent pads between rails can influence material use and installation sequencing.

The involvement of Siderise Site Services, including training, benchmark areas and regular inspections, also highlights how manufacturers can support on site teams in matching installed details to tested configurations on high rise student housing projects.