The Suter Gallery

Contour are proud to be associated with the iconic Suter Gallery built by Scott Construction & designed by Warren & Mahoney in association with Jerram Tocker Barron for Nelson City Council. Contour played a key part in creating the striking VM Zinc rain screen cladding system around the building.

Marc Barron of Jerram Tocker Barron Architects Ltd on the design criteria for cladding the iconic Suter Gallery:

“We required a durable, sustainable, self-finished cladding that could be used on walls and roofing, and that could be easily formed to suit the required cladding details. In addition, the gallery is set within a sensitive landscape, adjacent to the Heritage-listed Queens Gardens with rainwater run-off being directed into the adjacent Eel pond. In this context, it was important that rainwater run-off would be harmless to the adjacent water body and vegetation, and that the finish is a recessive tone to suit this visually sensitive site. Zinc was the obvious choice to suit these requirements.”

Contour’s project management team worked behind the scenes with VM Zinc, the architects & builder to resolve complex detailing in order to create clean lined negative detail facades, including around sloping walls and at junctions with other finishes. Contour prepared all the shop drawings in house for approval by the architects.

Contour also manufactured and installed the rain screen louvres along the Western elevation which helped emphasise the vertical lines of the negative detail VM Zinc panels.