Britplas on board with Bristol office development

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Britplas have been awarded the contract to provide the vertical exterior facade to a new commercial building at Bristol Business Park.

The package, worth around £1m, is Britplas’ first for main contractor Bowmer and Kirkland and will see them carrying out the design and installation of all external glazing, cladding and doors. The building (no. 100) will provide 86,000 sq. ft. of Grade A offices over 5 floors and is set to become the new headquarters of Babcock International Technology, the UK’s largest maritime support company to the Royal Navy.

Britplas are due on site from May this year, with an eight month programme taking them to the start of 2019. The team will be installing a range of products and systems including Schüco FW 60 SG, Schüco ADS70 manual doors, Schüco ASS70 and Boon Edam Crystal Tourniket manual revolving drum doors.

Bristol Business Park is an established office park situated five miles north of Bristol City Centre with excellent transport links and within easy access of the M32, M4 and M5 Motorways.  Building 100 will be the first of three phases for the 7.3 hectare site, which will eventually total 150,000 sq. ft.

Britplas start on site at Honeybourne Place

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Britplas are starting work on site at Honeybourne Place, a new £12m office development in the heart of Cheltenham.

The Honeybourne Place façade schedule is due to run until mid-2018, and represents £3.5m to Britplas for the design, manufacture and installation of the majority of the external envelope, a striking glazed façade designed by architects Roberts Limbrick. Located in central Cheltenham, the 60,000 sq. ft. scheme is the first of its type in several years for the Gloucestershire town, with demand for high quality office space outstripping supply.

The initial SFS load bearing sub-structure is being installed prior to the arrival of the first glazed units and cladding next week. When completed, it will feature Schüco FW50+ curtain walling, steel fire resistant screens, finished with a large range of cladding varieties.

Britplas are due to install stone, ceramic, composite, brick slip, aluminium rainscreen, brise soleil and architectural fascias and soffits creating a challenge for our procurement and on-site teams.

Westgate Oxford opens to the public

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Oxford’s new £440million Westgate Shopping Centre, where Britplas delivered the full external glazing package for two blocks, was completed and opened to the public on the 24th October.

Britplas were appointed to the two stage project, which brought with it various challenges particularly around access, by main contractor Laing O’Rourke. Westgate block 1 comprised the installation of multiple aluminium door varieties and a unitised curtain walling system creating a technical challenge for our design team which was overcome with collaboration from the system supplier, Schueco. Block 4 involved the manufacture, supply and installation of aluminium doors, Schueco FW60+ curtain walling and fixed light glazing. Together these packages totalled £2.4m and represented several months on site for our installation team.

The Westgate development was a joint venture between Land Securities, The Crown Estate with Westgate Oxford Alliance to improve facilities in Oxford City Centre, with the revitalisation of the 1970 built shopping precinct central to this. 125 shops including the major new John Lewis with its Britplas façade are expected to bring in triple the amount of shoppers as previous years.

Britplas secure Honeybourne Place contract

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Britplas have secured a £2.9m glazing contract at a new commercial development in Cheltenham, Honeybourne Place. The mixed use development consists of ground level retail units and penthouse apartments, with the bulk being office space.

The £12m build will complete the redevelopment of the old St James railway site in the heart of Cheltenham, and provide a much needed 64,000 sq. ft. of office space as well as bringing 500 jobs to the area. Britplas are again working with contractor Barnwood Construction who broke ground at the site last month, with Britplas due to start on site towards the end of 2017.

Britplas’ package of works includes the design, manufacture and installation of Schüco FW60+ curtain walling, Wrightstyle SR60 steel fire resistant screens, finished with composite and brick slip cladding.

Britplas sign off on two projects in Australia

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Britplas have recently completed the installation of their award-winning Safevent window to two new mental health facilities in Adelaide, South Australia.

Flinders Medical Centre

One of only two major trauma centres in South Australia, Flinders Medical Centre has to deal with a wide range of issues and a broad patient demographic. Britplas were commissioned to provide aluminium internal sliding Safevent windows – chosen for their ease of use and versatility across a variety of situations, with integrated blinds to protect from the Australian sun. The overall project value was £100k, and involved the fit out of a brand new 30 bed older persons mental health unit.

Flinders Medical Centre is the second international job that Britplas and Cheeseman Architects, based in Adelaide, have worked on together.

The Veterans Mental Health Precinct

Also based in Adelaide but in Glenside, The Veterans Mental Health Precinct represents $15million investment from South Australia Health to deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) related cases.

Britplas provided aluminium external sliding Safevents with integral blinds and flush locks to the new purpose-built facility, and installation was overseen by a Britplas Site Manager, Steven Gittens.

The new facility incorporates the existing Intermediate Care Centre (ICC) building and comprises 24 bedrooms, a gymnasium, research spaces and gardens.

The two facilities are the latest in a series of international projects undertaken by Britplas, as the Safevent window continues to prove itself a global market leader in mental health fenestration.

Work starts on site at Oxford Science Park

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The latest collaboration between Britplas and Barnwood Construction has now started on site, with the steel framework now in place at Plot 12, Oxford Science Park, in readiness for the installation of a Schüco FW 50+ curtain walling system.

Recently named the Schrödinger Building, Plot 12 is a 61,500 sq ft, £13 million state of the art office and laboratory building due for completion early next year.

Britplas Site Manager Kevin Wilkinson is now preparing for the first glazed units to be lifted in to place over the next few weeks. The project is the third secured by Britplas for main contractor Barnwood Construction following the successful design and installation of two building façades on the nearby Milton Park development last year.

Our Pre-Construction Manager Ben Woodward commented “We are delighted to have secured a third project working with Barnwood Construction. The ongoing collaboration is testament to the high standards achieved by our design and construction teams on the recent Milton Park projects, and we look forward to helping to create another great building which will be an exciting addition to our portfolio.”

Work progressing well at Westgate Block 4, Oxford

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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

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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.”

Another façade win for Britplas in Oxford

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Britplas are delighted to announce our appointment to a further project for Barnwood Construction – Plot 12 Oxford Science Park, a new 500 person office block located in the heart of the Oxford Science district. Britplas have worked with Barnwood Construction on the successful completion of façade packages to two similar facilities previously – Thamesview and EZ1 at Milton Park in Oxfordshire for developer MEPC. Plot 12 features a striking design by Bogle Architects and aims to alleviate the lack of Grade A office space in the Oxford area, forming a cornerstone of the science park’s wider expansion plans.

The £2.1 million external envelope package awarded to Britplas includes the design, supply and installation of:

  • 3000m2 Schüco FW 50 SG with high performance solar control glass;
  • Shadow boxes;
  • Bespoke Marley Eternit Linea Cement Boards;
  • A unique anodised brise soleil system; and
  • An aerofoil canopy with 500mm blades.
  • Ventilated Louvre plant walls and plant room
  • Internal Atrium glazing

In total the building covers 61,500 sq ft of space over four storeys, which Britplas are set to seal from late June 2017 with an expected completion date of the end of October this year.

Britplas have lift off at The University of Cambridge

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Working closely with Kier Major Projects and Techrete, the first precast and glazed concrete panel was secured into place on Project Capella today, a new 18,000m2 biomedical research building which is under construction for the university.

The Schüco FW60+ curtain walling sections are manufactured and installed offsite to allow for minimal disruption on site and give the fastest possible weather tightening of the building. The end result will comprise a full façade spanning 2,750m2 all manufactured and installed by Britplas. The completion of composite cladding, curtain walling and concrete sections is on target to be delivered on time for June 2017.

Kier are a longstanding Britplas client, having worked together previously on projects such as St Bernards Hospital, numerous mental health projects, Marlborough School, Cedars Manor, Preistmead and Aylward primary schools. The working relationship stretches back over 10 years in the mental health, education and commercial sectors.

Project Capella reflects the University of Cambridge’s commitment to medical research, with the £79m state of the art facility designed to house a number of small pioneering companies currently scattered across the city. Britplas are proud to have been appointed to deliver the façade package on this prestigious and significant project.