Work progressing well at Westgate Block 4, Oxford

Building on from the success of Britplas’ work at Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford, Laing O’Rourke has retained Britplas on site to install the façade and glazing on the new Block 4 of the same development.

The £1.1m contract consists of the manufacture and installation of Schüco FW50+, FW50+ SG and FW60+ SG systems, with Britplas also required to provide multiple doorset varieties including frameless, circle slide and swing operation varieties.

Working closely with main contractor Laing O’Rourke and architect Dixon Jones, Britplas has come up with a system adapted to suit this project’s specific requirements, having started on site in February with the program running through to August 2017.

The £440 million redevelopment of Oxford’s Westgate Shopping Centre will have more than 100 shops, 25 restaurants and cafes, a cinema and 61 flats and covers over 800,000 sq ft. The new centre is due to open in October 2017 after a two year redevelopment programme.

Landmark telescope development brings Britplas on-board

Britplas have recently secured a £1.2million package for the installation of the façade at the new Square Kilometre Array (SKA) building at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. Our design department has already started working closely with The University of Manchester and main contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, to ensure the solution is fit for purpose as part of this world class research facility.

The high-spec Aluprof systems consists of MB70 doors and windows set within 1200m2 of SR 50N curtain walling system, producing a slim line external profile for the £16.5million project. The external façade is completed with 1000m2 of Trimo Qbiss cladding.

The SKA is the world’s largest multi-purpose radio telescope, based in both South Africa and Australia, with over one hundred thousand dishes and antennae being controlled from Jodrell Bank. About the project, Professor Stephen Watts, Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Manchester stated “Our astronomers and engineers are playing a significant role in this revolutionary new telescope, and obtaining planning permission for the new building is a key milestone – we very much look forward to seeing the development move forward over the next year.”