Rinnai is introducing a new global logo as the company develops to meet the future. The new logo is a contemporary sans-serif typeface which is heavier but more friendly and gentle.
Since the company’s inception just about a century ago, Rinnai has developed products specifically to enrich lifestyles and now has 16 bases around the globe and operations in over 80 countries.
The company is the acknowledged leader in the manufacturer of continuous flow hot water heating units and systems.
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.
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:
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
Photos: Jack Hobhouse
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.
Photos: Claire Lize Photography
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.
Langley Waterproofing Systems Ltd has pledged its support to the 100% Hackitt campaign, an initiative which aims to ensure that all recommendations made in the Hackitt Review of fire safety and building regulations are fully implemented.
The 100% Hackitt campaign was launched by Local Authority Building Control (LABC) and the British Board of Agrément (BBA) to bring together key individuals and organisations from across the sector. Its rationale is to encourage the government to implement all 53 recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety report
Dean Wincott, Managing Director of Langley Waterproofing Systems Ltd, commented: “We are strong advocates of the 100% Hackitt initiative and encouraged to see the rapidly growing levels of support it has received from across the industry.
“The importance of improving fire safety cannot be over stated. Despite the recommendation in the Hackitt review that major changes are required, there is a risk that without pressure and support from the industry, regulations will not go far enough to prevent potential future tragedies and we fully support the recommendation of improved accountability, transparency and record keeping.”
Paul Everall, LABC Chief Executive said: “I welcome Langley’s commitment to 100% Hackitt. Dame Judith is clear the industry should be getting on with changing the way it does things. So we’re delighted so many like-minded organisations are working with us to do just that. The 100% Hackitt initiative is a space for everyone who wants to see systemic change in the construction industry and Langley’s support is a further sign the whole industry is getting behind it.”
Dean concluded: “The new regulatory framework laid out in the final Hackitt review report includes the creation of a new Joint Competent Authority that would monitor the design and construction of buildings to minimise safety risks. It also champions better procurement processes, greater enforcement powers and more rigorous product testing – important messages that resonate with Langley Waterproofing Systems Ltd, who responsibly put all products through demanding test processes to ensure that each one is suitably tested as part of a wide range of real-life scenarios.”
– £40 rewards up for grabs with top retailers and restaurants for every VELUX white painted roof window purchased –
Installers, builders and homeowners across the UK and Ireland are being offered an extra boost this Spring, courtesy of roof window manufacturer VELUX®.
Launched in 2015, VELUX Rewards allow customers to earn rewards all year round every time they buy a VELUX roof window, flat roof window, sun tunnel or selected combination flashings.
Customers can normally claim between £5-£30 rewards per VELUX white painted roof window, but this April and May, VELUX is giving away a big rewards boost by offering £40 rewards for every white painted roof window purchased in April and May.
Rewards can be redeemed at a range of retailers and restaurants including M&S, Argos, Curry’s PC World, Pizza Express and Tesco.
The promotional £40 boost to the scheme is available on VELUX white painted roof windows purchased from the 1st April to the 31st of May with the 14th of June being the last day customers can submit a claim.
Speaking on VELUX Rewards, customer Ben Powell, said: “Since the scheme was first set up, I have earnt well over a thousand pounds worth of rewards. I claim on as many of the VELUX products as possible, using them in shops like John Lewis and M&S. In December, I was able to cash in over £500 of rewards, which I used to pay for my entire Christmas!
“You can submit your claims all year round, not just during the promotion periods, which means the savings really can add up.”
Richard McArthur, marketing manager from VELUX said: “As Spring is a busy time for installers, we are giving the reward scheme a boost to help our customers get the most out of their renovation projects. Whether it’s eating out, going to gigs, buying the latest tech, or furnishing the home, there are a range of rewards to suit most lifestyle needs and requirements.”
Rewards are available on the entire range of VELUX white painted roof windows, including manual, centre-pivot and top-hung standard roof windows, combination solutions, and automatic electric and solar VELUX INTEGRA® roof windows.
Rinnai, the UK’s leading manufacturer of the ErP A-rated Infinity range of continuous flow condensing gas fired water heaters, delivers the most energy efficient range of low-NOx hot water heating units currently available to the UK end user.
The company’s low-NOx Infinity HDC 1600e external wall mounted unit (together with the interior HDC 1600i version) utilises Rinnai’s patented pre-mix burner technology with a 14-1 turn down ratio – the largest on the market – of 58.4kw-4.05kw and is extremely quiet in operation.
Integral controls on the units enable the water heater to achieve high efficiencies whether locally or integrated into a building management system. In reducing Legionella proliferation, Rinnai has developed additional ‘SMART’ controls for secondary return DHW systems in the form of an advanced temperature control system which allows for safe running of water at 42°C core temperature during the day and 60°C when a building is closed. By the time the building reopens, core temperature is 42°C for safe use.
Another Rinnai innovation addresses an age-old industry problem with hot water delivery – lime scale build-up. The company’s integrated scale control system is an innovative solution and comes in the form of an LC (lime check) code on the display of the controller.
The system helps to ensure the performance and efficiency of Rinnai’s 1600, and, all of its continuous flow water heaters installed in hard water areas. Almost all water-fed appliances, including plate heat exchangers, boilers and water heaters will, over time accumulate scale deposits in hard water areas.
Ultimately, ongoing use with hard water may shorten the lifespan of conventional water heating appliances and systems. To safeguard against this Rinnai units continually self-monitor for lime scale deposits around the heat exchanger. If a lime scale build-up is identified, a message is sent to the built-in interface panel on the front of the appliance. The message is displayed as ‘LC’, which alerts the end user to contact a Rinnai service agent to perform a lime scale flush to clear the potentially harmful deposits. This avoids and eliminates the adverse effects associated with lime scale build up, including lower energy efficiencies and potential product de-generation.
The industry uptake on Rinnai’s series of low-NOx high efficiency products is that continuous flow heater systems are proven to be more energy efficient than conventional storage systems and are increasingly the experts’ preferred method of hot water provision. Rinnai units easily cater for any size projects that need high volumes of water at intermittent times of day.
The Rinnai Infinity 1600e/i offers condensing technology with up to 107% gross efficiency, ultra-low-NOx of less than 20 ppm, a widely expansive modulation range of 54kW-4kW and high flow rates of 37/ltr/min. Add to these benefits are the peace of mind of an extended warranty, a top A-rating exceeding the demands of eco-labelling legislation, the flexibility of external wall mounting and delivery to site with all relevant accessories and the knowledge that the HDC1600 is future-proofed against future regulatory and legislative changes.
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