Creagh provide the solution for 2 new student accommodations

St. Andrews University in Fife chose Creagh Concrete for the first stage of their £70million investment plans in student accommodation for the university. MMC Magazine Editor Joe Bradbury finds out more:

A building of historical significance

Founded in the 15th century, St Andrews is Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world. Teaching began in the community of St Andrews in 1410, and the University was formally constituted by the issue of a papal bull in 1413.

In 2009, St Andrews became the first Scottish ancient to appoint a woman as Principal, recruiting Professor Louise Richardson from the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard, to lead it into its seventh century. She was succeeded in 2016 by Professor Sally Mapstone.

St Andrews recently celebrated 600 years of continuous existence during which time it has made an enduring contribution to the intellectual and cultural life of both Scotland and the wider world.

Project overview

The first stage of the investment called for two new accommodation buildings for the campus. The new buildings called Powell Hall and Whitehorn Hall respectively have created 389 new bedrooms for the university.

Creagh provided architectural concrete cladding for the buildings including feature walls with etched lettering. In total, Creagh installed 695 GFRC concrete pieces for both projects. Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete or GFRC (also known as GRC) is a type of fibre-reinforced concrete. GRC consists of high-strength glass fibres embedded in a concrete matrix. Both fibres and matrix offer a synergistic combination of properties that cannot be achieved with either of the components acting alone. The fibres provide reinforcement for the matrix, increasing its tensile strength, limiting the shrinkage and creep processes as well as eliminating curing cracking appearance.

For the St Andrews project, Creagh developed a project-specific GRC mix to match both the structural performance and aesthetics requirements. This allowed the installation of floor to floor panels with 25mm concrete skin and no steel rebar. Creagh’s manufacturing facility rose to the challenge of precise filigree moulding and different casting techniques required for the panels. Among the benefits of GRC: it’s reduction in thickness provides an increased cavity and/or insulation allowance and a smaller loading to the façade. All of which significatively reduce the buildings carbon footprint but providing the same durability and resilience as traditional concrete.

Powell Hall opened its doors to postgraduate students for the first time in October 2018. It is named after Renee Powell, American professional golfer who became one of the first female members of the R&A in 2015 and was the second African -American woman ever to play on the LPGA Tour. The new building is five-storeys and adjacent to Agnes Blackadder Hall on the North Haugh, near the various science buildings. It is also located near to the Sports Centre and is only a 15 minute walk to the town centre.

Aluminium copings were also installed on Whitehorn building, a four-storey building located adjacent to University Hall, near to the Sports Centre and the various science buildings on the North Haugh. It is named after Katharine Whitehorn – British journalist, writer and columnist, and first female Rector of the University of St Andrews from 1982 to 1985.

The decision to use precast concrete systems for the bulk of the building’s structural frame, cladding and balcony units was taken at an early stage on the project. The brief demanded a robust finish on the building, which would limit the amount of ongoing maintenance required.

Precast concrete is the ideal material of choice for frame construction and cladding.

Rising to the challenge

The job itself was not without its challenges. Speaking with MMC Magazine, Contracts Manager Ramon Escriva said “On the technical side, it was a very difficult installation with most of the panels with no access to fixings. We devised a range of different solutions to provide fixing points. There were also several cases with overhung panels that required special craneage arrangements.”

Creagh Director and Co-Founder Seamus McKeague added “We are seeing strong interest in our rapid build concrete systems because developers now understand the true value of slashing programme times.

“Investors not only benefit from revenue gained by the early occupation of units but, also, from the mobility of their capital resource. Quite simply, shorter build times mean developers can complete more projects with the same pot of finance.”

The brand new building offers various facilities for students to use for studying and/or socialising including, main social space, games room, cinema room, private dining room, sound insulated music room, study spaces, kitchen/lounges & a laundry room.

The new additions to the halls of residences will increase residential space offered by the University from 4,000 to 4,900 occupants, in an effort to accommodate the increase of students attending the University.

Tackling the severe accommodation shortage

From a political point of view, this project couldn’t have come at a better time, with Scotland facing a “clear problem” with providing accommodation for university students on campus.
In a recent article in the Scotsman, Green MSP Mark Ruskell called on the Scottish Government to hold a summit of university accommodation providers and student representatives to tackle the issue. Speaking at Holyrood, he said “I think it is clear that we have got a problem across Scotland.

“At Stirling University 180 first year students didn’t have accommodation last year. Under-18s cannot rent in the private sector, care leavers and international students struggle to find guarantors for private contracts. Disabled students very rarely find the appropriate private accommodation to meet their needs and we see increasing rents on campus as well.”

About Creagh

Creagh Concrete has been a pioneer of precast for over 43 years. They are one of the UK’s largest producers of concrete products for a diverse range of market sectors throughout the UK and Ireland. Creagh is leading the market with innovation in concrete, providing new solutions across the construction industry, changing the way people think about concrete, bringing new levels of efficiency and performance to their products.

The company operates from its head office in Toomebridge, Northern Ireland with bases in Ardboe, Dunloy, Draperstown and Magheraglass and also at Nottingham, England and Edinburgh, Scotland.

We asked them what their ethos is and this is what they said: “Creagh is all about quality products & relationships – strong relationships with our customers, sub-contractors, clients and suppliers. These relationships are key to our business and our approach to working together to deliver successful projects. From initial design consultation, through project development, groundworks, installation and beyond, your scheme couldn’t be in more experienced hands.”

for more information please visit www.creaghconcrete.co.uk.
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The E-HAUS – the Future of Construction?

Energy Crisis, Global Warming, Carbon Reduction, Sustainability, Zero Carbon, Environmental Footprint – these are all terms familiar to the general public, yet seemingly remote to the construction industry which has such a significant role to play in the protection of our future environment.

As a major influence on the condition of the environment, both actively in the building process and passively in the results of our efforts (ie. the buildings), there is a curious reluctance to adopt measures which would benefit future generations.

The Committee on Climate Change Report just published, for example, is pretty damning of the construction industry’s efforts to counter our impact on the environment. Far from leading in measures to counter global warming, England (particularly) aspires to some of the poorest energy standards in Europe. The Report identifies that energy use in our homes actually increased from 2016 – 2017!

Over the years, however, a variety of organisations and groups have actively campaigned to stimulate more sustainable construction, with varying measures of success. The Passivhaus Institut was established in Germany to promote building homes which are sufficiently insulated and weathertight to eliminate the need for an active or central heating system, the principle being that the energy generated and recycled within the home is sufficient for a comfortable lifestyle in all but extreme weather conditions.

Back in 1995-96, as energy efficiency was starting to be taken more seriously, isorast GmbH (aka BecoWallform in the UK) launched a national competition to design a Passivhaus (Yes, the Passivhaus really has been around since then!). The competition was a huge success attracting worldwide entries and helping to establish the Passivhaus as a practical proposition.

Now Passivhaus is becoming a popular specification, the next stage of development is the E-Haus, the Energy House, generating and storing all its own energy independent of the grid and delivering surplus energy back into the local network to reduce the requirement for centralised energy production. Advancing technology in design and detailing of building fabric, equipment and energy storage is creating the opportunity to build homes and communities with a negative carbon footprint in a more balanced environment.

Following the success of the original Passivhaus competition, isorast (BecoWallform) have launched a new competition to design the E-Haus, again leading the way in promoting a sustainable environment.

The E-Haus competition is open to architects and designers in the EU, UK and Switzerland, to design a family home up to 200 sq.m. which is energy self-sufficient. Total prize money is €55,000 and entries are to be submitted by 16 August 2019. The winning projects will be exhibited at the ReWoBau Trade fair in Wiesbaden, 7 – 9 February 2020. Further details and competition documents are available via the isorast website: www.isorast.de/downloads.

For more information please visit www.becowallform.co.uk.
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Retirement Village sees the light with glass roof design

A stunning new retirement village which is due to open in the summer of 2019 has benefitted from a series of rooflight solutions from leading manufacturer Xtralite.

Wixams Retirement Village near Bedford, is owned and operated by Extracare the same company who’s Lark Hill Retirement Village was featured in the 2018 Channel 4 series of ‘Old People’s Homes for 4 year old’. The purpose built village will provide 230, one and two bedroom apartments for the over 55’s in its six acre green field setting.

“This is an exciting project that we were delighted to work on as it provides alternative lifestyles for those approaching or nearing retirement age whilst encouraging community and social engagement,” said Jim Lowther sales director Xtralite. “Great thought has gone into the design of the building and the inclusion of extensive rooflights ensures areas of the building are flooded with natural light which has been proven to improve wellbeing, especially during the darker months.”

Three sections of the construction project benefitted from Xtralite roofing solutions and its X-Span range of product. One area being the Winter Garden residential area which is a single glazed atrium over a five storey building and includes louvered ventilation.

The Village Centre roof itself benefitted from argon filled double glazed panels and was thermally enhanced to elevate the comfort of users in the central atrium of the village, the location of health spa, bar, gym and other communal facilities. Its design is visually striking creating a focal point merging visual aesthetics and practicality. This area also had smoke vents fitted to meet smoke ventilation building regulations.

Both were sizeable installations measuring over 40m in length and up to 12m in width highlighting how X-Span is entirely versatile and can encompass varieties of style, design and ventilation to fulfil both aesthetic, safety and ventilation demands and legal requirements.

Finally, the self-supporting trapezium styled entrance canopy had single glazed panels from the X-Span range creating a striking visual effect upon arrival at the village.

Mark Jarman Senior Project Manager at Galliford Try commented; “Xtralite has a good reputation in the industry for quality products and reliability and this was important to us when choosing our structural glazing specialist . Pleasingly, the process concerning Xtralite was seamless and we are very pleased with the finished elements of the project.”

X-Span remains a popular choice of glazing system. Capable of utilising glass, or lightweight lumira and polycarbonate. In the case of Wixams, glass was used for its clarity and far superior sound attenuation.

“X-Span is a great looking and very practical choice for atria, canopies and entrance ways and was ideally suited to the situations in this particular project,” said Jim. “In addition to practicality and the visual aspect it also complies with BS6399 system Part 1 (Code of Practice for dead and imposed loads), Part 2 (Code of Practice for wind loads) and Part 3 (Code of Practice for imposed/snow loads) delivering a premium solution of aesthetics and practicality.”

Further information can be found by visiting www.xtralite.co.uk or by calling 01670 354 157.

 

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Kingspan holds court at The Dixon, Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge Magistrates’ Court and Police Station has been reinvented as a four-star boutique hotel in a Dominvs Group development. It includes the installation of a tapered roof insulation system from Kingspan Insulation — ensuring the only thing taking the fall from now on at the former court will be the rain.

Consarc Design Group led the architectural restoration work on The Dixon, named after the building’s original architect, John Dixon Butler. Dexter Moren Associates oversaw the planning stage design, including the construction of a new-build extension. The 193-bedroom hotel has joined Marriott International’s Autograph Collection and also includes a bar, restaurant, two meeting spaces and a gym. The interior décor blends Edwardian influences with modern styles, reflective of the diversity and rich culture of SE1.

McAleer & Rushe have undertaken construction and refurbishment work on the historic site. The completed hotel is expected to achieve a ‘Very Good’ rating under the BREEAM 2014 New Construction Non-Domestic Building standard, with the new extension designed to achieve the 40% improvement in ADL2A criterion required by the London Plan. To raise the thermal performance of the building’s flat roof, whilst also providing effective drainage, Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM and Kingspan Thermaroof TR27 LPC/FM were installed.

Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM provided the project team with a fast-track alternative to other drainage methods, such as structural falls. The product combines high performance insulation and drainage in a single board which can be fixed with a dry installation process, avoiding the time lost waiting for wet trades to dry. The lightweight boards can also be as little as 1.5%, or less, of the weight of a screed to fall solution, minimising the structural support requirements for the roof surface.

Kingspan Insulation’s specialist tapered roofing service team created a carefully tailored scheme layout for the hotel roof, maximising cost efficiency whilst also ensuring the surface met the rainwater runoff and insulation requirements. The layout also simplified the installation process for the site team aided by the pre-mitred hip and valley boards supplied as part of the Kingspan Thermataper system.

Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM and Thermaroof TR27 LPC/FM feature a high-performance core capable of achieving thermal conductivities as low as 0.024 W/m·K. The products, produced at Kingspan Insulation’s Pembridge manufacturing facility, have been successfully tested to LPS 1181: Part 1 and are certified as achieving Class 1 Insulated Steel Deck Pass to Factory Mutual Research Standard 4470: 2016. For further details of the conditions of approval please refer to the full product brochures.

For further information, please contact:
Tel: +44 (0) 1544 387 384
Fax: +44 (0) 1544 387 484
Email: info@kingspaninsulation.co.uk
Website: www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk
www.twitter.com/KingspanIns_UK
www.linkedin.com/company/kingspan-insulation-uk
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Ultra Facilities Services delivers 25% cost savings for EWS Manufacturing

When Hadley Group acquired EWS Manufacturing they set out to improve its facilities services by turning to its own facilities management partner, Ultra Facilities Services, for assistance. The turnaround of services will now deliver a 25 per cent cost saving over a 12-month period.

Hadley Group acquired EWS (Manufacturing) Ltd in July 2018, a specialist manufacturer of cold rolled steel products and the market leader in window and door steel reinforcement. This new arm of the business produces in excess of 25 million metres of cold rollformed sections annually at its site in Wolverhampton.

Facility Management Services are an integral part of the daily running and profitable operation of an organisation. That is why on acquiring EWS, one of Hadley Group’s first steps was to bring the company’s facility services standards in line with its own to ensure the efficient and cost-effective delivery of its day to day operations.

Ultra Facilities Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of the international Hadley Group, was invited to review the facilities services on site with a specific brief to provide the same or similar existing services at a more competitive price point.

The appointment of Ultra Facilities Services in September 2019 has seen the business make considerable savings in different areas of its facility service delivery, with the following notable achievements:

  • A 15 per cent cost reduction in cleaning services thanks to a change in staffing levels, shift patterns and the cost of materials. This was also helped by an investment in more efficient cleaning equipment delivering a tangible improvement in overall standards, without adding additional work hours.
  • A 20 per cent reduction to cost of consumables. Ultra Facilities Services had previously negotiated with a local supplier for products such as soap, toilet paper and black bags for the parent company Hadley Group. Moving EWS onto those same contract terms has significantly reduced what the manufacturer was previously paying for similar products.
  • A 50 per cent annual saving in excess of £10,000 for the collection of general waste thanks to a reduction in the number and frequency of collections as well as in the unit price of collecting each waste skip.
  • Prior to Hadley Group’s acquisition of EWS, there was no manned security on site and cameras were monitored remotely with out of hours site visits conducted by a local security firm. A simple switch to Hadley Group resources meant security monitoring was moved to Hadley Group’s existing 24/7 operation in Smethwick and site visits are now carried out using existing resources. This has resulted in direct savings of 25 per cent with no impact on service delivery.
  • Other areas of considerable cost savings were in hazardous and confidential waste. Hazardous waste was previously stored and collected in 1100 litre euro skips which were located in the centre of the factory. A move to oil drums, where a large number of 205 litre drums are now spread out throughout the site, has led to a more efficient approach to the way that these are stationed. The cost of removing confidential waste was also reduced by 40 per cent as the number of consoles and collection frequency was reviewed.
  • Finally, the Ultra Facilities Services signature help desk facility has been extended to the company at no additional cost. This allows any employee within the company to log a request for ad hoc tasks to be carried out, meaning that premises can be maintained, and facility services can be managed at all times.

Steve Bayley, Business Development Manager at EWS, said: “As Ultra Facilities Services is a wholly owned Hadley Group enterprise company, we were keen to get them on board. Ultra Facilities Services carried out a thorough review of our existing facilities management practices looking at cleaning, consumables, general waste, grounds maintenance and security with the aim of implementing cost efficiencies. Since switching to Ultra Facilities Services, our costs have reduced significantly resulting in a total saving of just over 25 per cent over a full 12-month period.”

Wayne Travis, Director at Ultra Facilities Services, said: “We have been providing Hadley Group with our facility management services since early 2014. When the acquisition of EWS occurred, the team at Hadley Group was keen to get us on site to assess the existing facilities management procedures. As with all of our clients, we took a holistic view of what was required and provided a costed solution that was designed to meet their specific needs. We are pleased that we were able to provide a service offering that has significantly improved the delivery of facility services at the site while also reducing the company’s overall operational costs.”

For more information, or to request a facilities management site assessment please visit: http://ultrafacilitiesservices.co.uk/
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Titon unveils its brand-new, customer focussed website

Titon has launched a brand new website, showcasing its full range of products, across both the company’s Ventilation Systems and Window & Door Hardware divisions. The site can be accessed at www.titon.com and has been designed with end users and customer support in mind.

The new, responsive site boasts a fully in-depth ‘resources’ section, which can then be filtered across the whole Titon portfolio. This is supplemented by a ‘knowledgebase’ containing up to date details of the UK Building Regulations, as well as the company’s latest BIM and CPD information.

The website also contains dedicated sections tailored for self builders, fabricators, specifiers and homeowners respectively. This then allows users to stipulate the exact resources they are looking for, allowing the relevant information to be accessed quicker. For example, acousticians can locate information about noise levels in just a few clicks, while specifiers can find relevant product test results in the same amount of time. This is in addition to being able to download manuals and technical data, as well as read about the company’s latest news and case studies.

There are also new selector filters which allow users to easily highlight their desired product(s) within either the MVHR, handles or vents range; this enables users to then simply and quickly identify the options available for their specific requirements.

Titon has also introduced a ‘Find my product’ section – a selectional tool allowing visitors to search by division and product type in order to locate a specific item; whether it is a ventilation controller or a window handle, this function covers the entire Titon portfolio, while providing extensive information on the end product once it has been selected. Visitors to the site can submit a photograph of an existing installed product in order to identify a suitable replacement or obtain essential servicing information – a feature which has been designed with homeowners in mind.

Another addition is the dedicated ‘investors’ area, which incorporates the latest information from Titon Holdings Plc, including financial statements, shareholder information and up-to-date stock market details. There is also a native language distribution selector that allows non-English speakers to communicate with the company without translation, as well as download available resources in their respective language.

Commenting on the new look site, Tyson Anderson, Sales & Marketing Director at Titon, said: “Our business has moved on significantly in recent years, so it was time to update our website in order to reflect this. Having such a vast portfolio in both the hardware and ventilation sectors, we felt it was important to provide customers with an enhanced user experience. The result is a fantastic looking site offering comprehensive information about every facet of Titon.”

He continued: “The website is the result of lots of research and workshops, as well as in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and customers, followed by extensive periods of testing. Titon now has a good looking, functional website that will benefit all our customers, regardless of the sector they operate in.”

For more information about Titon and its comprehensive range of whole house ventilation products and window & door hardware, please visit: www.titon.com
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Armstrong Ceilings were an architect’s trusted choice for a banking icon

Black metal ceilings are a key feature of HSBC UK’s new headquarters.

Armstrong Ceiling Solutions were specified for key features in a next-generation UK headquarters building because they are the architect’s trusted brand capable of supplying a complete system.

Armstrong’s B-L302 jet black custom-mesh metal planks were complemented by the manufacturer’s Bandraster grid and Axiom blind box on levels 1 and 2 of the “university” reception, marketplace (canteen) and break-out areas for HSBC UK’s new headquarters at 1 Centenary Square at Arena Central in central Birmingham.

They were selected by regular Armstrong users TP Bennett architects who, while referring to the client’s design guidelines, wanted at the same time to innovate to create a new kind of headquarters for HSBC UK to focus on retail banking and training for 2,500 people.

Armstrong

Located on nine acres of a key regeneration area for the city and the former home of Carlton TV, the 11-storey, 210,000ft2 building with three basement levels is constructed of steel frame with rainscreen cladding and houses offices, the HSBC university, a staff gym, restaurant and café, and an executive suite with catering.

Extensive landscaping and external public realm works help to create a new “urban meadow” and public square at what is now known as Bank Court for developers ACDL – a joint venture between Miller Developments and Pro Vinci Asset Management.

The Armstrong systems form the main feature ceiling in the university reception area and the key break-out and collaboration areas and comprise 283m2 of 1210mm x 687mm metal planks with 71% open mesh area along with 193 metres of 100mm Bandraster unslotted exposed suspension grid and 272 metres of 100mm Axiom Blind Box transitions, both also in jet black (RAL 9005).

TP Bennett associate director and interior designer Francesco Tidona said: “We specified the Armstrong systems because they are a trustworthy company who are able to provide a full system which is convenient as it includes the mesh tiles and the supporting structure as well the proprietary Blind Boxes which we integrated with linear luminaires.”

They were installed for main contractor GallifordTry over two months by a team of 10 from specialist sub-contractor Taylor Hart, a member of Armstrong’s national network of approved Omega installers.

Managing director Phil Lewis said: “The Armstrong products were excellent, incorporating a Blind Box to allow M&E to install lights into the system in place of the Bandraster grid in various areas. The system was easily built and the colour march was of a high quality for each of the components.”

More information is accessible via the Armstrong Ceilings website https://www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en-gb/.

Photos: Jack Hobhouse

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Armstrong Ceiling Solutions help landmark offices celebrate their curves

Refurb of Radio House is set to send potential tenants Ga Ga.

Ceiling systems from Armstrong were specified for the £7 million high-spec refurbishment of a landmark Cambridge building for their cost effectiveness and functionality.

The striking wall-to-wall ceiling solutions featuring in the makeover of Radio House, which is renowned for its wave-form barrel-vaulted roof, allow for flawless transitions between varying ceiling materials, including Armstrong’s demountable metal MicroLook 8 1200mm x 300mm rectangular panels and plasterboard margins, to provide a streamlined visual which is versatile and exceptionally functional.

On the ground floor and part of the first floor, Armstrong’s Drywall Grid System (DGS) was pre-configured to the required shape to form a sloping bulkhead around the perimeter which allowed for safer installation and a reduced working height in these offices.

The sloped bulkhead was joined to the metal area with Axiom transitions, creating a seamless finish. The recyclable white metal lay-in planks were extra micro-perforated and backed with a black acoustic fleece to perform acoustically to sound absorption performance 0.70 aw and sound attenuation performance 31db and were installed using a Prelude 15mm XL2 grid.

Using Armstrong’s DGS system to lay out the openings for lighting, air grilles and plasterboard margins allowed for faster and accurate boarding and meant no cutting out was needed post-installation.

The ceiling systems were specified by Aukett Swanke architects whose brief was to refurbish the building internally and externally to bring the internal layout and services up to modern standards, to celebrate and enhance the positive aspects of the building envelope, and to improve the areas of the existing envelope which were no longer fit for purpose.

Radio House now offers approximately 7,452ft2 to 43,382ft2 of BREEAM “Excellent” Grade A office space in a self-contained building situated in the Chesterton Conservation Area between the city centre and the northern fringe business parks. It was vacated by the critical communications company Sepura who moved their headquarters elsewhere in the city.

The distinctive building underwent an 18-month comprehensive refurbishment to provide a new main entrance and central core with double-height reception, full access raised floor, and Armstrong’s suspended ceilings on the ground floor with a floor to ceiling height of 2.7m. The feature ‘wavy’ roof on first floor has a floor to ceiling height of between 2.95m and 4.75m.

Aukett Swanke studio principal Daniel Winters said: “We carried out a careful design process that balanced the constraints of the existing building and budget to deliver a transformation that retained and augmented the special qualities of the existing building and its landmark wave form roof. The Armstrong products helped us deliver that by being cost effective and functional.”

The CE Marked and Cradle to Cradle™ certified DGS and metal tiles were installed by specialist sub-contractor Lorus Projects who were joined on site by Armstrong Drywall Grid specialists to go through the build and ensure the fixing teams were fully educated on the process.

The building’s external appearance was rejuvenated with careful integration of terracotta cladding systems, with brick slips appropriate within the Cambridge and Chesterton area which will bolster the building’s heritage qualities.

Will Heigham from agents Bidwells said: “Finding Grade A office space in Cambridge is a huge challenge because office supply levels have fallen to the lowest level for 15 years and availability rates are down to just 8.5%. What this means is that there is very little space available, let alone units of over 10,000ft2.

“Radio House’s completion therefore represents a real opportunity for existing Cambridge occupiers looking for new open-plan expansion space or new entrants considering establishing themselves in Cambridge.

“A huge amount of money has been invested in upgrading Radio House and it will provide efficient and substantial open plan floors, with flexible floorplates, that will appeal to a wide variety of occupiers from professional services to the technology sector.”

Cambridge is home to a range of well-known R&D, technology and life sciences companies including AstraZeneca, Samsung, Hewlett Packard, Toshiba, Microsoft, Huawei and Apple.

More information is accessible via the Armstrong Ceilings website https://www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en-gb/.

Photos: Claire Lize Photography

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Cembrit HD is in the Wings at Twickenham

Cembrit HD (heavy duty) board has recently been installed in the newly redeveloped East Stand at Twickenham, the home of England Rugby. Resilient, hard wearing and with an impressive fire rating, HD is an ideal multi-use board for high traffic areas in sports stadia such as Twickenham, which on match days sees 82,000 fans descend on the stadium.

The new East Stand development is a stunning, world class facility. KSS was the lead designer and architect on the project and worked with Wildfire London on the interior design concept and delivery. The expanded East Stand offers six floors of stylish event space, including eight brand new facilities delivering a bespoke hospitality experience for fans. The British Airways Rose Garden is the new elegant roof terrace on Level 5 and has been designed for a fun and immersive experience. Hugely popular due to its ‘outdoors feel’ which includes a built-in pizza oven and rotisserie, the venue sees a lots of foot traffic on match days.

Supplied by the Hayes branch of Minster, the fast-growing specialist insulation and dry lining distributor, the Cembrit HD board is installed in the Rose Garden itself, in the wings of the facility, as well as on the walls of the adjacent L5 concourse where impact resistance was important as crowds are moving in confined spaces. A lot of the wall finishes in the Rose Garden are also fixed through the Cembrit boards, including the brick slips behind the rotisserie section. Cembrit was delighted to be involved in the project and chosen by KSS, and Kenji Ikegaya, an architect at the practice, comments: “Cembrit’s robust and weather resistant HD boards provided us with flexibility and multipurpose utility in meeting the complex project requirements. Their technical advisors were also helpful and informative in pursuing the goals of the project.”

Cembrit HD (Heavy Duty) is a Class A2-s2, d0 fire rated high density building board comprising cement, cellulose and mineral fillers. It is ideal for ‘sealing’ buildings under construction as it is impact resistant and can be left exposed without additional treatment. HD is also extremely versatile and can be used as partitioning and is popular in offsite and SIPS construction as well as internal applications.

For further information visit www.cembrit.co.uk, email sales@cembrit.co.uk or tel: 020 3372 2300
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