Glazing systems specialist Kawneer expands its curtain wall portfolio.

Today’s safety-conscious and fast-paced construction schedules demand high performance, fast installation, simplified fabrication, superior performance and design flexibility.

The DTI document “Manufacturing for the future” has long pressured the industry to increase awareness of off-site construction and build on the knowledge available across Europe and America.

It clearly highlights that off-site construction should be considered for hotels, hospitals, schools and supermarkets. But in reality, because systems such as unitised curtain walling do not require scaffolding, they are suitable for any site where access is difficult or restricted – in itself a growing phenomenon, with 70% of new-build now on brownfield sites.

With curtain walling being one of the most eye-catching elements of a façade, its evolution from the traditional stick system to a unitised one is perhaps one of the most obvious signs that the Government’s drive off-site is being embraced.

The factory production of unitised curtain walling from leading UK architectural aluminium systems supplier Kawneer gives predictability of time and cost, guarantees quality that reduces problems, delays and snagging on site, and avoids delays caused by adverse weather conditions.

On-site time can also be reduced substantially, saving labour costs and minimising local affects such as noise, dust and traffic congestion. Where there is a shortage of skilled site labour, off-site manufacture ensures high build quality is maintained.

Now Kawneer, which has 50 years of unitised curtain walling expertise, has enhanced its extensive curtain wall portfolio with the launch of a new fast-track dry-glazed unitised system.

The AA®265 incorporates a three-chamber system and overlapping gasket design for optimum weather tightness. Its dry-glazed assembly combined with the use of the same extrusion to all four sides provides both ease of fabrication and the opportunity for effective bar optimisation.

In addition, if access during installation is limited, the AA®265 system can be installed under restrictive working conditions, with the building remaining occupied.

The optimum weathering is achieved by zone-drained pressure equalisation, with the glazing providing a positive weather seal for high performance. The system also features an exclusive high-performance thermal break.

Its slim 65mm sightlines, picture-frame style capping, integral vent option and dual-finish gives specifiers a wide choice of options to create individual and exciting building facades as the AA®265 can accommodate spandrel infill panels of glass, stone and metal up to 50mm.

Adaptable to any new construction project from two storeys upwards, the AA®265 system has been exclusively designed and developed by Kawneer, with installation contracts undertaken in collaboration with its network of authorised dealers.

Kawneer’s unitised range of curtain walling also includes the AA®201 unitised system which suites with the company’s AA®130 Brise Soleil, has 63.5mm sightlines and can accommodate infill panels up to 32mm.

As well as many of the features of its sister AA®265 system, the AA®201 is available with fully-capped and SSG (Structurally Silicone Glazed) options in addition to a horizontal cap with vertical silicone joint, vertical cap with horizontal silicone joint and a range of mullion, transoms and face cap options with 63.5mm sightlines.

Both the AA®265 and AA®201 systems have been tested and certified to the stringent CWCT (Centre for Window and Cladding Technology) Curtain Wall testing standards.

A more detailed guide to the benefits of unitised curtain walling for off-site construction are contained within Kawneer’s RIBA-approved CPD which advises architects and specifiers about the manufacturing process and testing regimes for such systems, how they are different to traditional, “stick” curtain walling and how they are installed.

Kawneer is also able to offer a range of stick curtain walling systems including the AA®100 and AA®110 systems with 50mm and 65mm sightlines respectively. The AA®100 system is also available in a fire-rated version.

A range of products is now proving popular with construction companies looking for innovative and modern methods following its launch earlier this year.

Skeletank is now set to take the UK house construction market by storm, offering a solution to addressing the issues faced by residential builders when designing and installing surface water drainage systems.

Providing innovative sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) designed specifically for residential properties, Skeletank is only available from Hydro Water Management Solutions (Hydro WMS) and is the first modular systems of its type in the UK.

Adhering to the management train laid out in CIRIA C697, Skeletank systems bring with them a host of benefits for residential developers, social housing companies, local authorities and construction companies.

Potential benefits include releasing more land for development; substantial reduction in upfront costs of adoptable networks; improved cash-flow for developers; CDM and Health & Safety benefits and most importantly, the reduction of flood risk.

Director of Hydro WMS Brian Byrne explains further: “Skeletank systems offer ground breaking design benefits to residential drainage schemes, gathering rainwater at source and allowing its controlled release, either naturally back into the environment, or into the sewer network at a manageable rate.

“The systems have been specifically designed to provide flexible solutions to problems that face those building residential property every day. They meet the best-practice requirements of all current SuDS guidance and legislation.”

Providing a more natural approach to managing rainfall, Skeletank is a Surface water drainage system (SuDS) that can deliver provide both infiltration and attenuation. Skeletank solutions are suitable for pervious, impervious and soft-landscaped surfaces making them incredibility flexible in use.

Designed to manage surface water run-off within the grounds of each individual property, the system can return the water to the ground and/or store the water before releasing it in a controlled manner to the mains sewer network, or adjacent watercourses.

This modern method of managing surface water run-off at source can reduce the up-front cost of adoptable networks and provide major cash-flow benefits to developers. It may also be possible to reduce the size of open water features on site, such as ponds, thus allowing more room for more properties on the same sized site.

The main components of Skeletank systems are designed to be installed at a shallow level beneath hardened surfaces with minimal cover. This also proves extremely cost-effective, especially where there are ground issues such as contamination, high water tables or underlying rock layers. This reduced excavation means that the CDM benefits are huge, and staff safety is looked after, which is important in the world of construction.

Brian concluded: “It is an exciting time for Skeletank as more and more home builders are having to look for innovative ways to deal with water and there are now stringent SuDS guidelines to be followed. We not only make life easy, but we offer so many other benefits, that Skeletank is poised to be a market leader used by large and small private and public developers.”

More information about the Skeletank range is available at www.skeletank.co.uk

Technical Editor, Bruce Meechan hears from Ged Ferris of Cembrit about the wide selection of board products the manufacturer can offer for internal and external construction applications.

The term one-stop-shop may be over used in the UK building products supply chain, but the range of boards offered by long-established manufacturer, Cembrit can provide specifiers with solutions to every sort of challenge from interior refurbishment and the creation of wet rooms within social housing units, to some of the most daunting logistical demands faced by burgeoning offsite or MMC sector.

The majority of the board options offer not just excellent physical characteristics, but a strong lineage and a long track record of service, both here and on the Continent.
As UK Marketing Manager, Ged Ferris, commented during our interview: “We have the product range to facilitate the needs of everyone from offsite system fabricators to refurbishment specialists and the growing self-build market.

Not just a Five-star range, but a range with five main stars and many product variations: Cembrit’s flat boards encompass all the key performance parameters including moisture resistance, fire resistance and structural strength, as well as providing a versatile substrate for commonly used finishes.

THE RANGE General purpose and specialist requirements solved by Cembrit’s boards

The product within the range which has shown the most rapid growth across the market is PB: a versatile tile backer or render backer board, mainly being used for the refurbishment of bathrooms, it is popular due to its low weight and ease of cutting which facilitates installation, and the robust long term performance. Cembrit has developed a version called Flex which can be fixed down to radii of just 150 mm. Both conventional PB and Flex features polystyrene spherules and an edge reinforcement detail that uses a special fabric allowing butt jointing and fixings close to edges for maximum rigidity. Flex installations might then form a column casing that would be rendered over or covered with a small format mosaic.

Where social housing providers are seeking to fit out full wet rooms for those who might need assistance with personal care, then there is also a Special Performance board which was originally developed for use in places like swimming pools.

The biggest seller still, though in terms of volume is Cempanel which is primarily specified for dry-lining and sheathing: the internal skin to a rainscreen cladding build up. Depending on dimensions, Cempanel can also take racking loads: being produced in thicknesses of 8, 10, 12 and 16 mm. It is also often used as a render carrier in exterior applications.

The FR board can provide up to 120 minutes of fire resistance and is widely specified for soffits in corridors, lift lobbies and other communal areas to buildings where the consideration of escape routes and combating the surface spread of flame are essential.

Ged Ferris added: “We see our board range as being of particular value to manufacturers of modules, pods, timber frame panel systems and other prefabricated solutions. They could even form the face to SIPs (Structural Insulated Panel) systems.

“As well as the merchant stockist, clients can also purchase through ‘optimizers’ – board cutting specialists who supply the exact sizes they need to make our standard product coordinate with elevation widths, window openings and things like flues or other service penetrations. It will also be a real advantage to customers that such a comprehensive selection is available from a single source.”

Responding to market demand, Cembrit is also making its cladding boards available as BIM objects in partnership with its Scandinavian parent company. These can be viewed via the company’s website at www.cembrit.co.uk or by contacting the company’s technical advisory service via email.

The section of HS2 that connects Birmingham with Crewe is now set to open six years ahead of the original schedule in 2027.

This announcement follows last week’s Autumn Statement revealing that the overall cost of HS2 is now rising to over £55bn, £5bn more than the projection made two years ago of £50.1bn.

In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor also announced £200 million to support the operations of Transport for the North (TfN) and its delivery of Oyster-style ticketing across rail, bus, metro and trams across the region. He also confirmed at Spending Review 2015 that £13 billion would be spent on transport in the North over this Parliament. TfN and the Department for Transport have also jointly launched their Autumn Report on the Northern Transport Strategy.

Chancellor George Osborne said “bringing forward this part of the HS2 route by six years is a massive step in the right direction for the Northern Powerhouse where high speed rail will play a big role in connecting up the entire region with the rest of the country.”

HS2 Ltd Chairman Sir David Higgins added “This is another significant milestone in the development of Britain’s high speed rail network. By accelerating the second phase between Birmingham and Crewe, we will bring the capacity, connectivity and regeneration benefits of HS2 to the North-West and Scotland years earlier than originally planned. It has also been very gratifying, as we develop the plans for Phase Two, to see a consensus grow among the city regions in the East Midlands and Yorkshire on the siting of future hub stations at Toton and Leeds city centre respectively. We all recognise the huge contribution this infrastructure investment can make in helping to rebalance our economy.”

The plans, coined ‘Phase 2a’, is raising concerns among those who disagree with the building of a High Speed Rail in Britain. Many feel that bringing forward the completion date for just 40 miles of track will surely raise questions as to whether if HS2 is built, it would ever get further than Crewe.

Stop HS2 Campaign Manager Joe Rukin criticised the announcement, saying “the supposed ‘fast-tracking’ of the route to Crewe, coupled with the rising costs of HS2 and real problems with the practicality of the rest of the proposed route, will surely lead many to conclude HS2 would never get further than Crewe. Far from showing a commitment to the North of England, going ahead with this proposal punts the links to Manchester, Yorkshire and the East Midlands firmly into the long grass, and if being a rail hub equaled economic prosperity, Crewe would already be the most prosperous town the the country.”

“HS2 is abysmal value for money, and the increasingly dogmatic support for this white elephant and its’ spiralling costs is completely unfathomable. The costs of HS2 went up 11% in the Autumn Statement and with trains not due to run for over another decade, who knows where the cost of this vanity project will end up and what else will have to be cut to pay for it? A responsible chancellor would be asking serious questions about whether HS2 is really worth it, not chucking more money at a boondoggle which would only benefit the richest in society. This is simply rewarding chronic mismanagement, and signalling that there is no need for budgetary control when it comes to HS2.”

Recent studies by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have suggested that a third of small construction firms are actually being put off from offering apprenticeships due to the bureaucracy involved. The report, entitled “Defusing the skills time bomb”, explains further.

Chief Executive of the FMB, Brian Berry commented “The construction industry is in the midst of a skills crisis which can only be solved if more employers take on apprentices. The Government wants to deliver three million apprentices over the next five years and this new report sheds some light on how this can be achieved. Our research shows that 94% of small construction firms want to train apprentices but a third are being turned off by a number of serious “fear factors”. These include the cost of employing and training an apprentice and major concerns regarding the complexity of the process.”

“There is strong evidence to show that small construction firms need better information and that if they were more aware of the support that’s available, a great number would train apprentices. Just under 80% of non-recruiters are not aware of one of the most important apprenticeship grants available to them and just over 75% say knowledge of financial support would make them more likely to take on apprentices.”

“Given that two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by SMEs, it is critical that the Government does everything in its power to remove any barriers that might be stopping these companies from training. Looking ahead, the Government’s new apprenticeship voucher could be a disaster for small firms unless it is properly road tested and made as simple and easy-to-use as possible. We’re also calling on the Government to protect our industry training board which is at risk from the new Apprenticeship Levy. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) needs reform admittedly but without it the very smallest firms would be left with less financial and practical support for apprenticeship training – remove this lifeline and you risk worsening the skills crisis.”

The FMB isn’t the only body voicing concerns over announcements made in the Autumn Statement. The British Chamber of Commerce have also called for greater clarity on the apprenticeship levy.

Executive Director of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Dr Adam Marshall said “Businesses want to tackle skills shortages and drive up productivity, but the apprenticeship levy risks having the reverse effect.”

“A lack of clarity around the scope, rate and scale is having a huge impact on business confidence. Many firms have decided to put training and investment on hold, and are concerned about the knock on effects of the levy on their cash flow, existing training schemes, and the bottom line. It’s important that this levy doesn’t undermine other types of vocational training, which could be better suited to some businesses.”

“While businesses back the government’s drive to boost apprenticeships, they have real concerns about the current approach. The government must focus on improving the quality of apprenticeships to make them more attractive to employers, and provide clarity on how they will be paid for as soon as possible.”

Sign up for our free email newsletter here!

With the judges set to meet at the beginning of December to decide on what will undoubtedly be another stellar shortlist, preparations for the industry’s leading event are well underway.

The ACR News Awards panel comprises several distinguished figures from across the air conditioning and refrigeration industry. After the deadline for entries (30th November), the judges will draw up a shortlist for each category and the winners will be announced on the awards night.

The 2016 event will take place at the Vox Conference Centre, a first class banqueting facility which comes as part of a unique and exciting £150m new development. This prestigious venue is situated at the heart of the UK’s transport network and it’s on the doorstep of the NEC, making it very convenient for visitors to The ACR Show.

Advanced Engineering, Bitzer, CDL, First Choice, Hawco, Samsung and Smith Brothers Stores have all pledged their support for the ACR News Awards as sponsors of the event; joined by Toshiba in recent weeks.

Toshiba is to sponsor the highly coveted ‘Contractor of the Year’ award. David Dunn, general manager of Toshiba said: “Training, Innovation and service excellence are key to the industry’s future. The awards highlight and reward achievement in these vital areas and provide a national stage to recognise examples of best practice across the industry. As a leading manufacturer we are delighted to support the awards, which embody and reflect our own values as a company.’”

ACR News editor Lynn Sencicle said: “Contractors are the keystone of the industry, dealing with different environmental challenges with almost every job. They are operating in a highly competitive environment with end-users that don’t always understand the technology. This is a fantastic opportunity for contractors to showcase to the world just how great they are.”

Commenting on the sponsorship opportunities available to brands, ACR News magazine’s Steve Bennion said: “With the ACR News Awards taking place alongside The ACR Show, the event looks set to draw an impressive number of people. It’s a fantastic opportunity for companies to reach a targeted and highly engaged audience, while showing their support for the industry.”

Tickets for the event are now available; for early bird rates, contact Tom Chambers on 01622 699113 or email tchambers@datateam.co.uk.

Early bird rate finishes 11 December.

For more information visit www.acrnewsawards.com

A new partnership between Ecobuild, the UK’s leading event for the construction industry, and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has been launched today ahead of the 2016 Ecobuild conference. The partnership will focus around a major new conference and exhibition centre – The Infrastructure Revolution Hub – which will enable industry to come together and discuss ways it can maximise the opportunity for growth, following Government’s commitment to infrastructure as key economic driver.

At the heart of the Hub will be a large conference area which will debate the key issues for the infrastructure sector across the three days of Ecobuild. The Hub will also feature products and services key to this growth sector and the ICE genius networking bar, making it one of the key destinations at Ecobuild for infrastructure professionals looking to make connections with the people that matter.

The infrastructure seminars held in the Infrastructure Revolution Hub will feature the UK’s leading contractors and industry experts. With a mix of keynote speakers and panel sessions, the seminars will focus on future challenges, opportunities and global best practice. Discussions will cover three overall themes – ‘Creating the infrastructure of the future’, ‘Small cities’, and ‘Modelling climate change’, including decarbonising urban infrastructure, energy generation, unlocking private capital, bespoke planning, collaboration opportunities, modelling demand of growing populations, and flood risk management and mitigation.

The partnership between ICE and Ecobuild follows Government’s announcement of a National Infrastructure Commission – an independent body that will enable longer term, strategic decisions to be made on infrastructure. Government has also committed to investing £100 billion in new infrastructure projects in this parliament. The industry has a crucial part to play and the new Infrastructure Revolution Hub will bring the key players together to drive forward change and innovation.

Leading architect and member of the new National Infrastructure Commission, Sadie Morgan, will also be delivering a session on day two of the Ecobuild 2016 conference.

Nathan Baker, ICE’s Director of Engineering Knowledge, said: “The societal benefit of effectively procured and managed infrastructure is immense. The need for increased collaboration, innovation and managing risk has never been higher than today. To create sustainable infrastructure, it is essential that we embrace new methods of working, increase the use of technology and new materials and develop a highly skilled, diverse workforce. The new Hub will help to bring these challenges and opportunities to the fore and encourage positive action to be taken.”

Martin Hurn, Ecobuild Event Director commented: “The infrastructure sector is a key driver of construction industry growth with the Government putting a major focus on delivery of infrastructure pipeline projects, and the recent strong output figures boosted by the new Commission pointing to sustained performance. The new Hub will enable the sector to come together in 2016 and have the conversation around the shared agenda for delivery of the Infrastructure Revolution.”

Ecobuild 2016 takes place at ExCeL, London from 8th to 10th March 2016. For further information about Ecobuild 2016 please visit www.ecobuild.co.uk.

In the wake of today’s statement, the industry is currently abuzz with chatter about whether Osborne’s plans will affect the housing sectors for better or worse. Here is what some of the big names in housing are saying regarding the latest spending review.

Skills shortage threatens 400,000 home target

The construction skills shortage could scupper the Chancellor’s vision for 400,000 new affordable homes, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to today’s announcements in the Spending Review.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “Faced with some difficult decisions regarding public spending cuts, today the Chancellor was right to ‘choose housing’ by prioritising investment in new affordable homes. The Government has confirmed plans to build 200,000 starter homes with 20% discounts for under-40s, 135,000 shared ownership homes, 10,000 rent-to-buy homes and 8,000 specialist properties for the elderly and disabled. This amounts to a £7bn public investment in new homes – a concerted effort to give aspirational home owners a helping hand onto the housing ladder.”

“Nevertheless, ‘George the Builder’ will need a new generation of ‘real’ builders to make his vision for housing a reality. We’re already seeing housing developments starting to stall because the cost of hiring skilled tradespeople is threatening to make some sites simply unviable. Unless we see a massive uplift in apprenticeship training in our industry, there won’t be enough pairs of hands to deliver more housing on this scale. That’s why we’re keen for the Government to tread carefully when applying the new proposed Apprenticeship Levy to the construction industry.”

“The Chancellor clearly recognises that the crisis of home ownership is inextricably linked to a crisis in house building. We therefore hope that in order to address both, the Government will do everything it can to increase house building capacity. SME developers will have an important role to play in delivering the smaller scale sites across the country. The last time we built in excess of 200,000 homes in one year was in the late 1980s when two-thirds of all homes were built by small developers. SME house builders now only build little over one quarter of all new homes which points to another serious capacity issue – we need more small house builders to enter the market and also for SME house builders to crank up their delivery of new homes in order to build the Chancellors 400,000 new affordable homes.”

Planning reform is needed

Greg Hill, Strategy and Change Management Director at Hill, said “Extra funding for starter homes is great news for prospective homebuyers, and will undoubtedly help to get more first time buyers and young families on to the housing ladder. Shared ownership properties too are a great way for young people to buy a home without a large deposit. It is certainly the case that the size of deposit required to buy a home acts as a major barrier to first time buyers entering the housing market and these initiatives will go some way to addressing the problem.”

“However, it still remains that a crucial issue over the coming years will be whether the UK housing industry is structurally able to supply the volume of homes needed to meet government targets. Planning reform, as well as greater investment in skills and training for careers in construction, are essential if the industry is to deliver the extra homes in the timeframes that Britain needs. We have a rapidly ageing workforce, with many tradesmen and skilled professionals due to retire in the next few years – the industry may struggle to deliver these 400,000 new homes if the gap in capacity is not filled.”

“If the industry is to build more homes, we also need to ensure that council planning departments have enough resources to make quick decisions on planning applications. The budget cuts that have also been announced today as part of the spending review could have an impact on local authorities’ ability to make decisions quickly.”

Lack of confidence in conservatives

Steve Sanham, development director at HUB Residential, said “With the government promising to subsidise homeownership for the masses, the Chancellor has effectively admitted that it can’t get the housing market under control. It appears that the housing policies of the past few decades have been an utter failure.”

“The problem hasn’t been a lack of ‘affordable housing’, rather a lack of affordability in general. Investment in infrastructure to bring new areas on line for development, and freeing up the bureaucracy of the planning system, are the only ways to bring ‘market homes’ within the reach of first time buyers. New headline grabbing affordable housing initiatives smack of more short-termism, and an inability or unwillingness of the government to grasp the big issues.”

‘Crisis Brewing For Social Housing’

Matthew Hyam, partner at BLM said “While targeting housing benefit directly might drive down the welfare bill in the short term, it will inevitably intensify the problems facing social landlords in building new affordable homes.”

“Although the Chancellor has made a huge £7bn commitment to affordable housing in this Statement, the impact of cuts on the social sector has already been immense. In the face of further financial difficulties, there will inevitably need to be a clearer focus on tenant support and arrears enforcement in order to ensure financial viability.”

“The social housing sector has been learning to cope with the effects of welfare reform for some time now and, with the dust barely settled on rent reductions and universal credit, social housing providers are in a more precarious position than ever.”

Positivity on housebuilding

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation said “The Government is clearly committed to increasing both housing supply and home ownership. Measures introduced in recent years have led to a big increase in house building levels but the scale of the challenge requires further action to close the gap between demand and supply. The Chancellor’s announcements today will provide extra impetus to deliver further increases in housing supply.”

Peter Quinn, Lovell director of business development said “We welcome any stimulus that will increase the supply of housing in this country. There are many parts of the country where we see great housing need and these measures will undoubtedly assist people onto the housing ladder, ‘Starter Homes’ will especially help the firs- time buyers wanting to purchase a Lovell home. However, we remain concerned that even this initiative will remain out of reach for those that cannot afford home ownership, and we need to continue to develop affordable rented housing especially in high value areas.”

Greg Hill, Strategy and Change Management Director at Hill, said “Extra funding for starter homes is great news for prospective homebuyers, and will undoubtedly help to get more first time buyers and young families on to the housing ladder. Shared ownership properties too are a great way for young people to buy a home without a large deposit. It is certainly the case that the size of deposit required to buy a home acts as a major barrier to first time buyers entering the housing market and these initiatives will go some way to addressing the problem.”

What are your thoughts on Autumn Statement 2015? Let us know your thoughts on twitter @ha_magazine!

Subscribe for free here to our email news bulletins to be kept up to date on the results of the Autumn budget

Housing experts from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are teaming up with a 91-year-old tenant and a leading housing organisation to help architecture students design homes of the future.

Leicester School of Architecture and DMU’s Centre for Comparative Housing Research (CCHR) are working alongside social housing and care provider emh group and extra care scheme tenant Mona Walkden, 91, to comment on the proposals of Architecture students for an international competition.

The European Federation of Assisted Living is challenging Architecture students to design new homes for the elderly.

By 2060, more than half of Europe’s population will be past retirement age – a fact which presents huge challenges to the housing sector to ensure homes are fit for purpose, accessible and affordable.

To help students understand the issues, April Knapp, regional development manager of emh group, and 91-year-old tenant Mona Walkden came to DMU to talk to students about design and needs of tenants for a special session.

Mona, who lives in Leicestershire, said “I found it very interesting. I think atmosphere is so important and my feeling as that I would like them very much to look at fitments and see how difficult it is for elderly people in wheelchairs to use sinks and open cupboards as often there are problems.”

“I’m very fit for my age but I live with people who are disabled and it gives you an insight into the problems they face. I feel that my job is to try to get the best living accommodation that you can possibly get for tenants.”

Chan Kataria, emh group Chief Executive, said “With an ageing population, the need for more suitable housing for the older generations has never been more acute.”

“We have started to address the situation with Oak Court, our extra care scheme in Blaby, Leicestershire, which is pioneering health and housing integration, but thousands more homes are needed across the country in order to meet the future needs of a rapidly changing society.”

Dr Jamileh Manoochehri, from the Leicester School of Architecture welcomed the invitation from Prof Richardson to take on the task of designing for an aging population.

Dr Manoochehri said “The Architecture students are considering what constitutes dwelling and they are taking up the challenge of designing accessible dwellings that continue to feel like home. “

“Each student is working on a different approach, some are concerned with overcoming the physical limitations that come with aging and others are investigating means of countering the isolation of the aging population by making use of the typology of the courtyard, or by designing homes that accommodate pets; and by establishing natural links between the interior and the natural world outside.”

Professor Jo Richardson, director of DMU’s CCHR, approached emh group to help set up the event. The CCHR has carried out research on the future of housing and in particular highlighted the increasing need for affordable rental accommodation.

Prof Richardson said “The changing population demographic is a huge challenge not only for the housing sector but health, business and the economy.”

“This will be an opportunity for our students to learn from Mona and April’s experience and expertise.”

“We are pleased to be able to use our close links with leaders in the field such as emh group to benefit students in their studies.”

Judges will be looking for high-quality ideas which address issues but also fit into people’s lifestyles and allow independent living as far as possible.

Judges will consider entries from across Europe. The winner, who will receive 10,000 Euros in prizes, is due to be announced in March.

See more here.

For employees to perform well at their work, good lighting is essential as it has a positive effect on both employee mood and productivity. Conversely, poor lighting degrades employee performance and also has a negative impact on health and safety in the work place.

For industrial applications, such as warehouses and factories, it’s a constant struggle to ensure lighting levels are maintained to a good standard.

Warehouse lighting by its very nature can reach heights of 4m and higher and often requires specialist machinery, such as a cherry picker, to perform routine maintenance or lamp replacements. This has a negative impact on productivity as areas are temporarily suspended whilst lighting operations are completed. To help effectively maintain the lighting in these applications many businesses undertake costly annual lamp replacement programmes to ensure the lighting in the working environment meets CIBSIE guidelines.

JCC has launched a new innovative Industrial LED offering Toughbay™ which looks to help eliminate these costly maintenance programmes.

The Toughbay™ range consists of high bay and low bay variants to replace traditional metal halide and fluorescent lamp technologies and can help reduce energy costs by up to 50%. The variants range from 7,500 lumens to 23,700 lumens, and have been developed to provide solutions for all requirements and mounting heights within industrial lighting applications.

Traditionally HID metal halide fittings can lose as much as 50% of their light output within the first half of their lifetime whilst still consuming the same amount of energy. This causes significant inefficiencies for businesses. JCC’s Toughbay™ range not only provides an outstanding energy saving it can be used with on/off and step dim sensing to provide a 75% energy saving against traditional metal halide and fluorescent lamps. Businesses can now look to save money on their lighting rather than have energy costs dominate their expenditure.

HID metal halide lamps are incompatible with occupancy sensing due their 15 minutes warm up and cool down time. Toughbay™ has been specifically designed to use with JCC Leviton’s multi-functional sensors which can be mounted up to 15m high and has a 16m wide detection range. For example, it can allow for savings on low footfall areas that aren’t required to be fully lit throughout the day.

Toughbay’s durable and reliable design is the result of the following features:

  • Toughbay’s Meanwell IP67 driver is distinctively positioned on the outside of the fitting allowing the air to freely flow around the fitting, helping it to maintain a consistent operating temperature. As a consequence of Toughbay™ producing intense levels of light, the LED chips and driver both emit heat and by keeping them separate the LED chips become unaffected by the drivers’ heat emissions.
  • The high output LED chips have an efficacy of up to 109 lumens per circuit Watt. The wide LED array is designed to maximise on the heat dissipation. Unlike a chip on board (COB) design, where the heat is condensed in one area, the LED array of Toughbay™ ensures that no heat build-up occurs as it disperses the heat evenly throughout the fitting.
  • Toughbay’s unique design incorporates the heat sink into the body of the fitting which helps improve airflow and heat dissipation. This intelligent thermal management reduces Toughbay’s operating temperature and improve its’ reliability.
  • Toughbay™ provides the maximum impact resistant rating of IK10. The high quality shatter proof polycarbonate diffuser provides extra safety and assurance in the workplace. Traditional lamp based fixtures often have low impact ratings and pose a high risk of shattering. Not only does this increase the probability of lamp failures but results in many fixtures requiring accessories to catch falling glass.

Toughbay™ key features:

  • Ultra efficient with up to 109 lpcw
  • Up to 50% energy saving
  • Durable construction – IP65 and IK10 rated
  • Suitable for extreme operating temperatures -30°/+60°
  • Adjustable mounting heights

To find out more about Toughbay™ visit us at jcc.co.uk/toughbay or contact our customer advisor team on 01243 838999.