Technium Optic Centre

By Redazione The Plan - 11 January 2010

The OpTIC Centre is the first building to be completed of the wider St. Asaph Business Park, Wales, launched in the mid-nineties to promote the Welsh opto-electronics industry. The Capita Percy Thomas Design Team was appointed in September 2001, and the building was completed in March 2004. OpTIC is sector specific for a developing industry, bringing together under one roof a technology and business centre to support young businesses. It also aims to link university centres of excellence with entrepreneurial businesses to promote innovative and sustainable technologies. The masterplan divides the site into four identifiable development zones; one of these is wholly occupied by the OpTIC Centre while the remaining three house incubator businesses.

Well served by public transport with links to the national rail network, the site also benefits from being located adjacent to a Sustrans Cycle Links connecting the neighbouring towns and villages of Rhuddlan, Boddelwyddan, Pengwern and St Asaph. 200 car parking spaces have also been provided to cater for the building’s users and conference visitors.

OpTIC Centre has a steel frame structure resting on a conventional concrete platform able to support the weight of heavy machinery. The 1.5m grid module was determined by the dimensional co-ordination requirements of the major interior building elements, statutory primary and escape circulation routes, and current furniture and partition component standards.

The external envelope is supported by a combination of secondary steelwork and blockwork while the roof is a standing seam system supported by cold rolled purlins and secondary steelwork. The building’s ‘high tech’ character is alluded to in externally visible components like the photovoltaic cells on the south elevation and the zinc cladding with slate plinth on the north and west elevations. This is counterbalanced with the natural materials common to the...