Odeon-Cinemar-BH2-Bournemouth-Externall-Crop-Night-scaled
Odeon-Cinemar-BH2-Bournemouth-Full-Building-scaled
Odeon-Cinemar-BH2-Bournemouth-Externall-Night-scaled
Odeon-Cinemar-BH2-Bournemouth-Full-Building-Night-scaled
Overview
ODEON BH2 is a landmark leisure and entertainment development located in the centre of Bournemouth. Designed to revitalise the town’s entertainment district, the complex combines a modern cinema with multiple restaurants and hospitality venues to create a vibrant destination for visitors throughout the day and evening.
As part of the building’s façade design, the development required a solution that could enclose the building’s external fire escape routes while maintaining safety compliance, visual appeal, and high-quality lighting conditions.
Structura was appointed to design and supply specialist façade systems using Kalwall translucent panels. The project involved installing large translucent façade elevations around the perimeter of the building, providing natural daylight during the day and creating a distinctive illuminated architectural feature at night.
The result is a façade system that combines safety, functionality, and architectural presence while supporting the overall vision of the BH2 development as a modern leisure destination for Bournemouth.
Details
Client:
Legal & General
Location:
Exeter Crescent, Bournemouth
Architect:
Broadway Malyan
Main Contractor:
Vinci Constructio
Project Metrics
Key performance and project metrics include:
Project Type: Leisure and entertainment development
Façade System: Kalwall translucent façade panels
Total Installed Façade Area: Over 1,000m²
Scope of Work: Design and supply of Kalwall translucent façade systems enclosing external fire escape routes.
The Challenge
Large entertainment complexes like ODEON BH2 must accommodate multiple technical and architectural requirements within the building envelope. The façade must deliver performance, safety, and visual impact while integrating with the wider design of the development. For this project, the key challenge centred around the enclosure of external fire escape routes around the perimeter of the building.
Enclosing External Fire Escape Routes
Fire escape routes are essential components of building safety systems. These areas must remain clearly defined and accessible while complying with fire safety regulations. However, enclosing fire escape routes within a façade structure introduces additional design considerations. The enclosure must maintain visibility, ventilation, and safe movement while ensuring the building envelope remains architecturally cohesive. For ODEON BH2, the fire escape areas required an enclosure solution that could deliver protection from weather conditions while still allowing light to pass through the structure.
Achieving Natural Daylight in Circulation Areas
Many external circulation areas and escape routes can feel dark or enclosed if solid façade materials are used. The design team required a solution that would allow natural daylight to penetrate the building envelope. This would create a brighter and more welcoming environment for occupants while improving the visual experience within the escape routes and surrounding spaces. Balancing natural light transmission with façade durability and safety performance was therefore an important aspect of the design.
Creating a Strong Visual Identity
As a prominent leisure destination within Bournemouth, ODEON BH2 was designed to become a focal point within the city’s entertainment district. The building façade therefore needed to contribute to the development’s identity while complementing the surrounding architecture. A conventional opaque façade system would have limited the visual impact of the building at night. The design team instead required a façade solution capable of creating a subtle illuminated effect after dark.
Integrating Performance with Aesthetics
Large façade systems must deliver long-term durability while supporting the architectural vision of the development. For the BH2 project, the façade solution needed to provide reliable weather protection, structural stability across large elevations, long-term façade durability, and visual consistency across the building perimeter. Meeting these requirements while maintaining the desired lighting effects required a carefully engineered façade system.
Structura’s Solution
To meet the project’s technical and architectural requirements, Structura designed and supplied a façade solution using Kalwall translucent panel systems. Kalwall systems are widely used in architectural applications where daylight transmission and façade performance must be combined within a single system. For the ODEON BH2 project, this system allowed the building envelope to deliver both functional and visual benefits.
Kalwall Translucent Façade System
The façade system consisted of multiple Kalwall translucent elevations installed around the perimeter of the building. These translucent panels allow natural daylight to pass through the façade while maintaining the structural integrity and weather protection required for the building envelope.
Unlike conventional glazing systems, Kalwall panels diffuse light rather than allowing direct glare. This produces a softer and more evenly distributed light environment within the enclosed spaces. This characteristic made the system particularly suitable for the fire escape circulation routes surrounding the building.
Large-Scale Façade Installation
The project involved installing over 1,000 square metres of Kalwall translucent façade panels. The scale of the installation required careful planning and coordination to ensure consistent alignment across the building elevations. Structura’s team worked closely with the wider project stakeholders to deliver the façade system efficiently while maintaining the required quality standards.
Daylight Performance
One of the key advantages of the Kalwall façade system is its ability to deliver consistent natural daylight. During daylight hours, the translucent panels allow sunlight to penetrate the façade and illuminate the internal escape routes. This reduces the need for artificial lighting during the day and improves the overall quality of the interior environment within the circulation areas.
Night-Time Architectural Effect
In addition to the daylight benefits, the translucent façade panels also create a distinctive visual effect after dark. As interior lighting illuminates the panels from within, the façade produces a soft, diffused glow across the building elevations.
This lighting effect enhances the visual identity of the building and allows the development to act as a beacon within Bournemouth’s leisure district during evening hours. The illuminated façade contributes to the building’s presence in the surrounding urban environment while reinforcing the entertainment-focused character of the development.
Durable Façade Construction
Kalwall systems are designed for long-term durability and structural reliability. The panels installed at ODEON BH2 provide a robust building envelope capable of withstanding environmental conditions while maintaining consistent light transmission. This durability ensures the façade will continue to perform effectively over time with minimal maintenance requirements.
Project Results
The façade system delivered at ODEON BH2 successfully combined architectural design, daylight performance, and building safety requirements. The installation demonstrates how specialist façade engineering can contribute to both the functional and aesthetic success of a modern leisure development.
Large Translucent Façade Installation
One of the most significant outcomes of the project was the successful installation of a large-scale translucent façade system. This scale of installation required careful coordination to maintain consistency across the building envelope. Key project metrics include:
- Over 1,000m² of Kalwall translucent façade panels installed
- Multiple façade elevations enclosing perimeter fire escape routes
- Large-scale façade installation integrated within a major leisure development
Improved Daylight Conditions
The translucent façade system allows natural daylight to penetrate internal areas throughout the day. This improves the usability and visual quality of the circulation routes surrounding the building while reducing reliance on artificial lighting during daylight hours. The diffusion properties of the Kalwall panels ensure light is evenly distributed rather than producing glare or harsh lighting conditions.
Distinctive Night-Time Architecture
After dark, the building façade becomes an illuminated architectural feature. The translucent panels allow internal lighting to shine through the façade, creating a soft glow across the building elevations. This lighting effect enhances the visual identity of the development and contributes to the lively atmosphere of the surrounding entertainment district.
Supporting a Landmark Leisure Development
ODEON BH2 has become a major leisure destination within Bournemouth, bringing together cinema entertainment and restaurant experiences within a modern urban development. The façade system designed and supplied by Structura plays an important role in supporting the building’s overall design vision. By combining performance, safety, and architectural impact, the façade helps reinforce the development’s identity as a contemporary entertainment hub for the city.
Why Translucent Façade Systems Work for Leisure Developments
Modern leisure developments often require façade systems that combine functionality with visual impact. Translucent façade systems such as Kalwall offer several advantages, including natural daylight transmission, diffused interior lighting conditions, distinctive architectural lighting effects at night, durable building envelope performance, and visual consistency across large façade areas. For developments like ODEON BH2, these benefits allow the building façade to contribute both technically and aesthetically to the overall design.
Structura’s Expertise in Specialist Façade Systems
Structura works with architects, contractors, and developers across the UK to deliver specialist façade engineering solutions for a wide range of projects. These include translucent façade systems, curtain wall installations, commercial façade engineering, skylights and structural glass systems, and refurbishment of existing building envelopes. Through careful design coordination and technical expertise, Structura ensures façade systems deliver both performance and architectural quality.