Double win as Britplas stays strong for mental health

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Continuing its role as market leader in the UK mental health fenestration market, Britplas has recently secured two large contracts with Birmingham and Solihull (BSMHT) and South London and Maudsley (SLAM) Mental Health Trusts. Their values combined total over £1 million, and involve a total of 350 aluminium award winning Safevent windows which are to be fabricated and installed before Christmas, ensuring a busy run up to the festive period.

The smaller of the two projects is at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, with 150 windows split between 3 buildings over 2 sites. Our installation team will have to rely on their vast experience to complete this refurbishment in a ‘live’ sensitive supervised care environment; the install schedule is spread over 15 weeks to minimise disruption.

The larger project at Maudsley Hospital in Camberwell, South London requires 200 Safevent windows over 2 buildings as part of its refurbishment program. Like its Birmingham counterpart, Maudsley is also a live site but with additional resource planned in for the duration and working closely with the clinical teams on site, the install schedule will be only 8 weeks.

Britplas’ Business Development Manager for Mental Health, Paul Guest commented ‘We continue to build strong working relationships with some of the UKs biggest mental health trusts, where a mutual understanding of the delicate situation and need for quality assurance is an absolute must from all parties involved. We’re delighted that both SLAM and BSMHT continue to choose Britplas for all their fenestration needs.’

Britplas win £2m façade package for new Cambridge University building

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Britplas break new ground with Project Capella

Britplas’ Facades division continues to build on its current order book with the awarding of Project Capella, part of Cambridge University’s Biomedical Campus with a package value in excess of £2m.

The six-storey 18,000sq m centre is being built by Kier Major Projects (KMP) and will be located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus next to the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. The building will provide state-of-the-art research laboratories alongside office and meeting suites in a collaborative environment designed to stimulate the exchange of ideas.

Externally the building features a two-storey glazed box with gold metal detailing and double height entrance foyer, while the spine is to be clad in a flat-faced graphite panel. A variety of materials have been selected to define specific elements of the structure and to create interest on the external façade.

Britplas’ role within the project has two distinct stages, with the first involving the installation of over 800m2 of Schüco FW60+ curtain walling into precast concrete panels, which will then be lifted into place using a specially constructed rig. This will be the first time that this type of lift has been employed for this size of panel in the UK, and Britplas, along with their precast concrete panel supplier has undertaken extensive testing of the rig at pre-construction stage to ensure safe delivery and handling on site.

The second stage of the project will see Britplas delivering, installing and finishing over 1500m2 of curtain walling and over 1250m2 of cladding – completing the full façade building package.

Britplas are on site from September, with an expected completion date of June 2017. The development is due for overall completion in Q2 2018, and aims to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.

Britplas continues to strive to deliver innovative and reliable solutions to the construction industry, building on each success to help maintain their high levels of quality and service.

John Blackwell, Britplas Commercial Director “We are extremely proud to be appointed by Kier Major Projects to complete the façade package at Project Capella. We worked closely with the KMP team at St Bernard’s Hospital, Ealing so it is particularly pleasing they chose us again to deliver another landmark scheme.”

 

Schuco FW60 into precast concrete panels

The first lift of its kind in the UK

Bunker Building is a winner in RIBA Awards

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RIBA North West have announced that ten projects were winners of 2016 RIBA Regional Awards, in recognition of their architectural excellence, including the Bunker Building in Liverpool where Britplas completed the fenestration package last year.

The Bunker Building is the former Littlewoods storage building which has been remodelled by architects Shedkm to provide flexible office space for developer Capital and Centric.

Britplas provided aluminium curtain walling, casement windows and doors to the project.

Having shortlisted 17 buildings, the RIBA judging panel visited all shortlisted projects over a week in March and reached a decision to award 10 RIBA Regional Awards at a prestigious ceremony hosted by BBC 6 Music’s Stuart Maconie at The Bluecoat in Liverpool, attended by members of the profession from across the North West.

North West Regional Jury Chair, Mushtaq Saleri, commented:

“The 2016 North West Awards are testament to the strength of architecture in the region today. With a record number of entries even the shortlisting process was difficult, the judging even more so.

“The judges were impressed by the dedication and commitment of the architects we met along the way, matched by clients who were clearly thrilled to have been involved in the special projects recognised by the visits. The vastly differing functions, scale, complexity and budgets make comparisons between the winning schemes impossible. The fact that we were equally moved by a delightful private residence and (in the same afternoon) a state-of-the-art laboratory facility proves that architects can have a positive influence in all areas of our lives.

“It has been inspiring to have been privy to these remarkable buildings and to have shared the stories behind their conception and construction. We congratulate all the architects and design teams involved and in particular the clients who continue to support our profession and all it represents The RIBA Awards recognise how this unique relationship can deliver something truly special”.

Britplas’ case study on the Bunker Building can be viewed here.

The full list of RIBA North West winners can be seen here.

 

 

Britplas starts new facade contract at Milton Park

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MEPC-Milton-Park-facade

Britplas has started work on the first of two new office blocks under construction at Milton Park, Oxfordshire. Selected by main contractor Barnwood Construction as the preferred glazing contractor and façade installer, Britplas presented the client with an innovative solution designed in-house by our specialist team.

The design solution included combining both curtain walling, brise soleil and rainscreen cladding within one system, reducing both the number of trades and time spent on-site. Britplas also chose to have the entire framework fitted with gaskets off-site to reduce the risk of complications during the installation period.

The 2500m2 Schüco curtain walling system is now being installed in line with the 12 week build programme. Glazing on the second building is set to start in early April with both office blocks due to be occupied in the autumn.

Ben Woodward, Operations Manager, Britplas said: “It is fantastic to see the commencement of the façade installation at Milton Park. The team have worked extremely hard to ensure that every detail has been considered. These projects further demonstrate the high level of in house design, manufacture and delivery capabilities by Britplas and we look forward to building on the relationships developed with the client, contractor and supply chain.”

Thames Lodge opens – the new medium secure unit at WLMHT

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This month saw the opening of Thames Lodge – the new 80 bed medium secure unit at St Bernard’s Hospital in London. The unit’s windows and glazing were supplied and fitted last year by Britplas and include an innovative curtain walling solution as well as our award-winning Safevent window.

Read our case study here.

Britplas appointed to new IPCU at Stratheden Hospital

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Britplas have been chosen to provide the fenestration package for the brand new Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit (IPCU) at Stratheden Hospital.

The new building is designed to improve on the existing facilities by incorporating market leading technologies and advancements in mental health care. The inclusion of Britplas’ Safevent window, door solutions and curtain walling is reflective of NHS Fife’s commitment to improving the service user experience.

The £4.4m build designed by Oberlanders will encompass an 8 bed facility and communal areas. Brian Montgomery of NHS Fife stated “Replacing the existing unit is a key part of our strategy to improve mental health services in Fife and we, as an organisation, recognise the importance of providing modern, therapeutic environments to support the delivery of high quality patient care. The new state-of-the-art unit will ensure that the most vulnerable patients can be cared for in a safer, more secure and supportive environment, designed specifically to meet their needs.”

Works will commence in October with the installation of uPVC Safevent windows, aluminium door sets and curtain walling. The new build is expected to complete in Spring 2016.