Dezeen Magazine

Facade of a slate-clad building with a sloping roof and a grass lawn in front

Cupa Pizarras creates facade cladding system made from natural slate

Promotion: Spanish company Cupa Pizarras has developed Cupaclad, a facade cladding system made from slate that aims to provide a sustainable alternative to conventional exterior finishes.

The Cupaclad system was created by Cupa Pizarras to showcase the material's design merits, from its recognisable grey colouration to its insulation properties.

Building with slate facade
The slate aims to create a timeless yet modern appearance

The raw slate used for the Cupaclad system is mined out of 20 quarries located across Spain, all of which are owned by the company. An additional 24 processing plants handle the slate and ensure it is ready for application.

Cupaclad was designed to have a natural, clean aesthetic that aims to adapt to any style of building, from the traditional to the contemporary.

Regardless of the building's design style, the system caters to modern standards of energy efficiency and sustainability, according to the company.

Building with slate facade
Cupaclad was installed across the exterior of an A-frame house in Angers, France

"Natural slate is a mineral product, and its production process from quarry to installation is highly efficient and does not employ any chemical products," said Cupa Pizarras.

"[We offer] a natural product which has less environmental impact than any other alternative materials for roofs and façades."

Building with slate facade
The cladding was chosen for the exterior of the Cache County Public Works in Utah

In addition to acquiring and processing the stone for the system, Cupa Pizarras has an in-house support team ready to aid designers and architects at each stage of the project, from initial ideation to installation on-site.

Projects that utilised Cupaclad include an A-frame house in Angers, France, and a house on Costa Street in London that has an extruded roof clad in slate.

Building with slate facade
Cupaclad lines the facade of a Southern New Hampshire University campus building

Cupa Pizarras has supplied slate cladding for larger-scale projects too, including for the monolithic Cache County Public Works facility in Utah, USA.

The cladding was also used in the design of the College of Engineering, Technology and Aeronautics (CETA) in New Hampshire, USA, which comprises two buildings with dramatically pitched roofs covered in slate.

Modern building clad in slate with a glass projection
Cupa Pizarras has an in-house team that can offer project support

Cupa Pizarras is a natural slate company that was founded in Spain in 1892. Its products have been used in projects across 60 countries and five continents.

The company has branches in a range of locations including in the UK, USA, France and Denmark.

For more information on Cupa Pizarras, visit its website here.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Cupa Pizarras as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.