Tag Archive for: Commercial windows and door systems

Britplas secure glazing package for Edinburgh St James, one of the UK’s largest private sector regeneration projects

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Britplas has recently secured a contract worth in excess of £8m for the design and installation of the glazing to a large section of Laing O’Rourke’s landmark Edinburgh St James development.

With a total investment value of £1.7billion, Edinburgh St James is one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects, located at the top of Leith Walk. Its predecessor, the St James shopping centre, was built in the 1960s and has recently been demolished to make way for 850,000 sq. ft. of retail space, a luxury hotel, 150 new homes, 30 restaurants and a cinema.

At a pre-construction level our team worked with Laing O’Rourke and BDP Architects to deliver both the aesthetic and performance requirements of Edinburgh’s new centrepiece. The end result was a multi-faceted package consisting of:

  • Kawneer AA100 capped curtain walling
  • Kawneer AA720 window/ door suite
  • Kawneer AA4110 sliding door
  • Kawneer AA190 thermally broken and non-thermally broken commercial doors

Work on the site started in 2016, with extensive demolition and excavation required (to a depth of some five storeys). Britplas are due to begin installing the external facade in February 2019, finishing 10 months later in Q1 2020. The whole program is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

 

 

New version launched of Safevent anti-ligature window

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safevent accessBritplas has launched a new version of its award-winning Safevent anti-ligature window, the Safevent Access.

Retaining all the innovative features that have made the Safevent the number one window for mental health facilities such as an anti-ligature design, excellent natural ventilation and uncompromised security, the Safevent Access has an opening sash to allow for easier maintenance and increased flexibility.

The Safevent Access is available in aluminium with an internal or external sliding sash.

Contact us today to book a visit from our mobile demonstration unit to see the window in action.

Tag Archive for: Commercial windows and door systems