PSBJ January 2023

ADAPTIVE REUSE ENABLES NEW LEARNING EXPERIENCE BDP (Building Design Partnership) has delivered a spectacular new education facility for the University of Strathclyde

Why is safe evacuation vital to your building’s fire safety strategy?

How to ensure the roof of a modular school building can last for decades

The important role offsite has to play in the healthcare sector

Welcome to the January issue of PSBJ...

Stepping

best foot forward into the new year, now is the perfect opportunity to reflect

past year with lessons learned, set future targets and realign our aspirations to

a common goal – notably, our collaborative path to net zero.

Not only is carbon reduction very much etched onto our consciousness, we are also seeing an urged renewed focus from the Housing Ombudsman on the recommendations for social housing conditions relating to damp and mould. Spurred by the tragic case of a toddler, whose death was reportedly due to prolonged exposure to mould spores, sadly this incident is the tip of the iceberg with thousands of properties and its occupants at considerable risk.

Our local authority’s housing stock is under intense scrutiny and whilst improvement works are underway, to social- and private-rented properties alike, the situation is magnified by the current cost-of-living crisis, whereby adequate heating is financially crippling and encouraged ventilation is, understandably, not an immediate go-to in the depths of winter.

Along with a more informed and responsive taskforce to address these properties, what the industry needs is more accessible systems and retrofit strategies to bring the housing stock most affected up to date with today’s standards.

In this issue, we hear from Ambion Heating, which identifies that there are millions of “missing” homes, where installing advanced systems, such as heat pumps, simply isn’t a feasible option. Instead, there are alternatives out there that prove a far more viable solution, such as low-carbon heat panels. Turn to page 28 to find out more.

One perceived hurdle you might consider is, “how is it possible to improve the efficiency and conditions of housing without severely disrupting current occupants?” Well, turn to our Housing feature on page 16, where you’ll read how Portsmouth City Council, ROCKWOOL and ECD Architects were the key drivers behind a remarkable retrofitting project to Wilmcote House, where tenants remained in situ throughout the entire upgrade programme.

Elsewhere in this issue, Algeco explains the important role offsite has to play in the healthcare sector, law firm Womble Bond Dickinson considers the future of arbitration in construction and Chubb explores why planning for a safe evacuation is vital for a building’s fire safety strategy.

I hope you enjoy this issue. Don’t forget, you can also access the magazine’s features, product news and supplier information on PSBJ’s user-friendly and engaging website. Fully responsive, the website allows you to read all the latest stories on-the-go either on your phone or tablet. Simply visit www.psbjmagazine.com.

The Learning & Teaching Building at the University of Strathclyde is a true exemplar of how we can create beautiful new sustainable buildings with interiors and functionality to benefit students and staff for many years to come. See page 08.

Hannah Woodger • Editor

06 News

A round up of the latest industry news, including charity events, awarded contracts, completed projects and much more.

08 Upfront

The Learning & Teaching Building at the University of Strathclyde is a true exemplar of how beautiful new sustainable buildings can be created to benefit students and staff for many years to come.

12 Healthcare

James Withey, Managing Director at Algeco Offsite Solutions, examines the important role offsite has to play in the healthcare sector.

14 Legal & Business

Law firm Womble Bond Dickinson discusses arbitration in the construction industry and considers what the Arbitration Act’s latest review could have in store for those affected.

16 Housing

The thermal performance of high-rise buildings often falls below today’s requirements, meaning remedial action is needed to bring them up to today’s modern standards.

08

18 Timber

The Magdalene College Library at Cambridge University has won the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize for 2022, heavily featuring Florian-machined European oak and Latham’s Woodex.

20 Roofing, Cladding & Insulation

Carl Bailey, Regional Technical Manager UK & Ireland for Elevate, explains how an EPDM single-ply roofing membrane can benefit modular school buildings.

22 Fire Safety

David Foord, Sales Director at Chubb, explains why planning for a safe evacuation is vital to a building’s fire safety strategy.

24 Education

Construction works have completed on a new first school on the Bramshall Meadows estate on Ivinson Way in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, with Midlands-based main contractor G F Tomlinson having led the construction of the school.

26 Leisure

Residents in Halesowen, West Midlands, are enjoying a completely re-invigorated leisure experience thanks to a major upgrade of the town’s leisure centre.

28 HVAC

Oliver Baker, Chief Executive Officer at Ambion Heating, explains why lowcarbon heating, such as heat panels, can be accessible to the UK’s varied housing stock.

30 Talking Point

Lee Jones, Head of Manufacturing Solutions at NBS and Acting Head of Sustainability at Byggfakta Group, explains why SDGs need to be prioritised and how digital specification is key to reaching 2030 targets.

32 Technical Focus

Allegion UK discusses fire door neglect and how to spot the potential faults that could be compromising your fire safety procedures.

34 Social Value

Clare Chamberlain at Crown Commercial Service discusses the importance of social value in construction projects and gives her top tips to ensure it’s not missed off the list.

36 Surface Design Show Preview

Held from 7 to 9th February 2023 at London’s Business Design Centre, the Surface Design Show will once again be showcasing the best in material innovation.

37 Product Showcase

A dedicated focus of industry news, products and case studies to help specifiers and local authorities make informed decisions.

INDUSTRY UPDATES

Lungfish Architects supports 1400 new school places across Derby

Architectural practice, Lungfish Architects, has successfully partnered with Morgan Sindall Construction to deliver more than £30m worth of educational infrastructure in Derby, helping to generate 1440 additional school places. Lungfish has designed and delivered some of Derby City Council and Derby County Council’s most recent transformative school projects, including Hackwood Primary Academy, Castleward Primary School, Highfields Spencer Academy, Ravensdale Infant & Nursery (pictured) and, most recently, Snelsmoor Grange Primary School, which is due to open in September 2023. Procured through SCAPE’s frameworks over the past three years, the completed projects have all been delivered on time, on budget and with an average client satisfaction of score of 9.5/10. The milestone reaffirms Lungfish’s commitment to creating sustainable and purposeful learning environments that support sustainable community regeneration. Working closely with each council, Lungfish undertook an extensive research and development study outlining exemplar school design and developing a standardised kit of parts. This standardised approach could be applied to any school site, whilst delivering the council’s educational requirements.

New design guide to

approach to affordable housing

A new catalogue of net-zero carbon building designs could provide a significant boost to Scotland’s affordable housing sector, as part of a standardised approach for local authorities and housing associations to adopt across a range of future developments. The energy-efficient design and performance standards have been created by the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator (EHD) programme. The catalogue covers different housing typologies, such as flats, houses and cottage flats, which combine fabric-first, energy-efficient standards, renewable energy technology and modern methods of construction – also known as offsite manufacturing. The £1m EHD programme – involving partners from the City of Edinburgh Council, Offsite Solutions Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of Edinburgh, Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) and Scottish Futures Trust – is trialling the new approach for high-performing affordable homes. The first pilot project of the EHD in Granton includes the creation of 75 net-zero carbon-ready one-, two- and three-bed flats being constructed by offsite construction specialist, CCG (Scotland), and is funded by the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme and the City of Edinburgh Council. The first homes designed using the performance standard are expected to be completed in the summer of 2023 and, once occupied, will be monitored to test the approach in the guide.

Construction works have been completed on Barr’s Hill School in Coventry, expanding its capacity with the creation of a new teaching block for Year 7 pupils and re-modelling of existing buildings. Midlands-based main contractor G F Tomlinson led on the construction of the building on behalf of Coventry City Council since works started on the school in 2021. The new teaching building, known as ‘The Bridge’, is set across two storeys and comprises seven modern classrooms. The facility provides a dedicated space that has been designed to help 11- and 12-year-olds benefit from a smooth transition into secondary education serving as their own ‘mini school’. Works also included the re-configuration and remodelling of existing buildings to accommodate the school’s expansion over the coming years, with the school’s science department being extended and refurbished, as well as new classroom spaces, improved sports and gym facilities, external play spaces and an additional dining area. Procured through Pagabo’s National Framework for Medium Works, this is the second scheme G F Tomlinson has successfully delivered for Coventry City Council –the first being the £3.7m development of Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Coventry.

Imperial College London’s new School of Public Health building has officially topped out at its White City Campus in west London. Designed by Allies and Morrison, the School of Public Health building will provide state-of-the-art facilities to support modern advances, underpinning epidemiology and public health, especially data sciences and community engagement, as well as educational facilities. In addition to leading the construction programme, GRAHAM is also fitting out almost 58,000ft2 of space across the nine-storey building, providing a series of spaces to enhance teaching, learning and research for academics, students, collaborators and the local community. Pat O’Hare, Operations Director at GRAHAM Building, comments: “This is a landmark moment for Imperial College London’s transformative White City Campus, the home of the new School of Public Health. We’re delighted to celebrate this milestone alongside representatives from Imperial College London, a renowned institution regarded for its approach to teaching, research and inspiring innovation.”

transform Scotland’s

Hundreds of new homes in north London get planning green light

One of the biggest residential planning applications in Islington in recent years has been approved by the London Borough of Islington’s planning committee. The move sees permission granted for the transformation of the New Barnsbury Estate, where Newlon Housing Trust and Mount Anvil JV will develop 914 homes, including 47% social-rented housing, alongside retail and community floorspace and extensive public space. This is the culmination of three years’ work by planning and development consultancy Lichfields on one of London’s largest and most highprofile estate projects. The New Barnsbury scheme, designed by PTE Architects, will make a meaningful contribution towards pressing strategic and local housing objectives in Islington. It will see material improvements to housing stock, biodiversity, urban greening, carbon abatement and the local townscape. The scheme will increase the quantum and quality of useable open space across the site; delivering two public parks, community gardens, extensive play space and roof-level amenity space. It addresses a range of existing social and environmental problems at the estate, including overcrowded substandard housing, an inefficient layout, poor energy efficiency, accessibility challenges and redundant open space.

Henry Brothers scoops second award for Staffordshire University building

Local contractor Henry Brothers is celebrating after winning the Sustainability Award at the West Midlands Property Awards 2022. The award was presented for the delivery of Woodlands Day Nursery and Forest School at Staffordshire University – the first carbon-neutral development completed by Henry Brothers and the first carbon-neutral building on the university campus. It is the second accolade won by the project in recent weeks. Last month, the scheme was announced as the winner of the GB & Republic of Ireland Construction Project of the Year Over £2.5m category at last year’s Construction Employers Federation (CEF) Excellence Awards. Managing Director of Henry Brothers Construction, Ian Taylor, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that the Woodlands Day Nursery and Forest School delivered by Henry Brothers for Staffordshire University has been recognised once again. It’s an exceptional building, which is a significant development not only for the university and for Henry Brothers, but for the future also. To win the Sustainability Award at The West Midlands Property Awards 2022 is a superb achievement for the entire team involved in the project. I’d like to congratulate them for their vision, expertise and skill in delivering this wonderful day nursery that will benefit staff, students, their families and the local community.”

New school creates pupil places for expanding Notts market town

Pupils in Bingham, Nottinghamshire, celebrated the opening of their new £7.9m primary school, with local Double Olympic Gymnast, Becky Downie, invited to attend the grand opening. Morgan Sindall Construction was awarded the contract by Arc Partnership on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council. Now complete, Bingham Primary School forms a central part of the new Romans’ Quarter housing development in Bingham. The new school, which becomes the latest academy in the Community Inclusive Trust (CIT), offers a 1FE (Form-Entry), 210-place primary with a 26-place nursery. The building has also been designed to allow for future expansion, taking the total number of pupil places up to 315. Designed and project managed by Arc Partnership, a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council and SCAPE, the onestorey 1405ft2 school features seven classrooms, a multi-use games area, playground and a hall that doubles up as a dining and indoor sports hall. The building will be highly self-efficient with air-source heat pumps, high-efficiency lighting with electrically-operated roof lights and four electric vehicle charging stations.

Lambeth plans housing shake up to build more council homes

Lambeth is planning a shake up of its affordable housing delivery, to speed up efforts to tackle the housing crisis and build more much-needed new homes for the people of the borough. The council’s cabinet will consider a plan to bring affordable housing delivery fully back in-house, to help deliver hundreds of new council homes while delivering on its net-zero and sustainability ambitions. The proposal comes as the council publishes the results of a review of its housing programmes, carried out by independent peer, Lord Kerslake. The findings of the Kerslake review, commissioned to meet the administration’s manifesto commitment to tackle the housing crisis and to deliver more high-quality affordable homes more quickly for more people, was discussed by the cabinet at a meeting in December. Lord Kerslake said: “There is an urgent need for more genuinely affordable housing in Lambeth. Many councils and affordable housing developers across the UK are experiencing challenges in efforts to build more new, affordable homes. Lambeth Council leadership are to be commended for commissioning this independent expert review to explore how their programme can be accelerated. Our report sets out the achievements and challenges there have been to delivery in recent years and recommends a way forward for the council to better achieve its ambitions. I am pleased that they have responded openly and positively to our recommendations.”

OLD BUILDING, NEW TRICKS –ADAPTIVE REUSE TO CREATE NEW UNIVERSITY LEARNING EXPERIENCE

With 39% of global energy carbon emissions resulting from buildings and surging awareness of our obligation to protect the planet, decarbonisation of existing buildings is high on the agenda in discussions with clients, claims Martin Jarvie, Architect Associate with BDP (Building Design Partnership), who explores further in this article.

Higher and further education institutions are finding innovative ways to create sustainable learning environments, which successfully equip students –our leaders of tomorrow – with the knowledge and skills that they need to support the fight against climate change.

As designers, we work to create solutions that recognise the importance in this substantial shift. We share best practice with universities and higher-education organisations, helping to create stimulating student learning buildings, whilst simultaneously achieving wider net-zero ambitions. Through imaginative and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, we create exciting suites of educational spaces and social areas within universities that are considerate of the planet.

The University of Strathclyde invited us to develop a solution to satisfy the need for high-

capacity teaching spaces and a new home for Student Services and the Student Union. The client also made it clear that any new building needed to be a place that would draw the entire campus together.

New teaching spaces were required to accommodate an immediate requirement

for significantly increased student capacity. However, there was also a need for us to build a hub that would encourage students to remain after lectures, strengthen campus culture and build a vibrant student community. This was about more than just formal teaching, it was

about creating social spaces where students would feel comfortable relaxing between sessions, and that would facilitate casual, collaborative knowledge sharing that is a vital part of the complete student experience.

From the outset, a range of alternative options were considered, including the construction of a new building on the edge of its central Glasgow location, but finally the solution we explored and then delivered was to use two empty buildings that stood at the very heart of the campus – the 1960s Colville Building, previously home to the engineering department; and its neighbour, the category B-Listed Architecture Building that overlooked Rottenrow Gardens. Both buildings were functionally redundant and required significant maintenance to restore them, but their location was ideal.

Here was an opportunity on this steeply-sloping site to create both the learning spaces that the university required and a central social hub where staff, students and visitors could linger. This was also the most sustainable option and, through close consultation with stakeholders, we were able to demonstrate that reusing these existing structures would dramatically reduce embodied carbon. Using lifecycle assessment software, our team was able to demonstrate that, compared to a notional new-build equivalent, reuse would save 67% CO2e, proving the adage that ‘the greenest building is one that already exists’.

To put this in perspective, the embodied carbon saving is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted by 3350 Scottish homes annually. In addition, 97% of construction waste was recycled, resulting in 6810 tonnes being diverted from landfill.

So, whilst the environmental argument for repurposing the original structures made sense, that left the challenge of unifying two quite different buildings to form a cohesive 20,000m2 building for multiple uses providing breakout spaces, a 400-seat lecture theatre, a home for Student Support Services and a place for the Students’ Union to reside.

Our solution was to unite them whilst amplifying their different qualities. It was never our intention to make the finished result look like a new build. We wanted to be faithful to the built heritage of the complex and that meant revealing, not concealing, their differences.

As a result, the Colville Building, which had been a warren of internal corridors with no links between the interior and its surroundings, was stripped back to its structural frame. Large-volume spaces were created; the raw structure exposed and celebrated and a bold, yellow beam inserted to create a double-height space for the Student Union in what had previously been an undercroft car park. With only the structural frame remaining, the Colville Building was wrapped in energy-efficient rainscreen cladding and highefficiency curtain walling, improving the building’s fabric to exceed statutory thermal and airtightness standards, whilst natural ventilation was introduced where appropriate.

Meanwhile, the Category B-Listed Architecture Building underwent a sympathetic upgrade, retaining the original character of the listed building. The windows were upgraded and thermal insulation introduced during the replacement of agedcopper cladding.

A new central glass-fronted hub was created to fill the void between them, providing views over Rottenrow Gardens. Covered by a green roof, the open expression of this link reinforces its welcoming character and provides a ‘window into the university’.

Prior to refurbishment, the Colville and Architecture buildings, combined, had an estimated BER of 64.55 kg.CO2/ m2.annum – whilst for the Learning & Teaching Building, that estimate is reduced by more than two thirds. Such a significant reduction in emissions has made a substantial contribution to the

university’s target of reaching net zero by 2040.

The Learning & Teaching Building at the University of Strathclyde demonstrates the intention of design to promote the assimilation and exchange of ideas, not only through lectures and class discussions, but also in social settings. The emphasis is on mutual learning over the formal act of teaching. Since its completion, it has won numerous prestigious awards, including Higher Education and Campus Category winner at the AJ Retrofit Awards and Best Modern (post 1960) Building

Refurbishment Project at the Scottish Structural Awards. 

Also, since its completion, staff and students have enthusiastically embraced the Learning & Teaching Building. Providing more than just lecture space, it has become the social heart of the university, dramatically increasing footfall through the Student Union and fulfilling its purpose in fostering what’s known in the sector as a ‘sticky campus’, where students choose to remain within the university complex instead of trickling away into the surrounding areas. This helps to foster the sense of community that the University of Strathclyde had been aiming for when they undertook this project.

The interior design, learning and social settings play an integral role in enhancing the ‘sticky campus’. Providing students with a variety and choice of settings allows them to choose the most appropriate for the task at hand. The opportunities include: the Hellerup stair seating, group work areas in the form of large bench tables with integrated power, high-perch tables and seating, alongside less formal sofa areas and individual work areas, such as bookable highbacked acoustic chairs.

The most popular work setting with the students is the integrated acoustic pods, which are dotted around the building. The booths provide an acoustic work area for two, four or six people, providing a quieter space for students with sensory issues or students requiring concentrated study.

Our creative vision for two education buildings that had grown tired and less fit for purpose has delivered a new Learning & Teaching Building for the University of Strathclyde, simultaneously solving the complex challenge of delivering a sustainable development on a congested urban campus, while creating an engaging teaching and social environment.

Our client had the vision and intention to support repurposing existing buildings to achieve its goal to create new spaces to positively impact the students. The Learning & Teaching Building at the University of Strathclyde is a true exemplar of how, from repurposing Scotland’s post-war building stock, we can create beautiful new sustainable buildings with interiors and functionality to benefit students and staff for many years to come.

OFFSITE KEEPS ON GIVING

As the Government calls for more platform-based construction solutions, James Withey, Managing Director at Algeco Offsite Solutions, examines the important role offsite has to play in the healthcare sector.

The Government plans to build or renovate 40 hospitals over the next eight years, which was confirmed in the November budget and should boost workloads in the construction sector. In its Autumn Statement, the Government allocated £12bn to the Department of Health and Social Care capital budget for 2022-23 and many of these proposed hospital projects already have planning permission.

Set against this is a record seven million people awaiting hospital treatment, and so it was little surprise when the chancellor announced that health spending for NHS England will increase.

In the 12 months to September 2022, according to Glenigan, 151 hospital projects across the UK secured planning consent. The total value of these schemes is nearly £2.5bn, which is a rise of 37% on the total value of hospital work approved in the previous year.

Clear benefits

The Government has for a long time been looking to procure construction projects, including those in the health sector, based on product platforms consisting of standardised components and assemblies. This has been driven by a number of factors, including a need to deliver value, rising costs, project delivery certainty, financial stability of suppliers and skills shortages, amongst others.

With a need to deliver new healthcare buildings within budgets that are now under ever-greater scrutiny, NHS trusts and building specifiers are turning to modular and offsite construction, not least because it reduces reliance on labour, so yielding greater productivity. At the same time, it offers huge advantages in terms of minimising deliveries to site and construction activity in a care setting, principally because modules can be delivered with a pre-manufactured value (PMV) of around 85%.

The cost benefits alone of modular and offsite make it a convincing proposition with up to 40% savings – mainly because the construction schedule can be cut by up to a half compared to an onsite build. Greater cost certainty in these turbulent times resonates with many public sector specifiers, whilst higher productivity and fewer defects contribute to quality builds. Waste on site is also cut by 90% according to WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).

Rethinking construction

Government procurement preference has already shifted from traditional construction methods to modern methods of construction (MMC), such as offsite and modular. The work we have been doing on Seismic, as part of an industry consortium, demonstrates how this can happen quicker, while meeting the Government’s own ‘Construction 2025’ vision of lower costs and emissions, faster delivery and an increase in exports from the industry.

Currently, most traditional UK construction is based on bespoke systems that are created by individual manufacturers. A lack of standardisation means different systems are incompatible, causing errors, delays and defects in the overall project delivery.

Seismic shows how a standardised light steel frame can change the way that new healthcare buildings are designed and constructed. The system, which we are already using on a large construction project in Leeds, encompasses the production of wall, floor, ceiling and roof components that are all completely interoperable with the standardised light steel frame.

This approach and the benefits it delivers is similar to what the automotive industry has been doing for years –centred around streamlined production and component assembly. Ultimately, the Government’s aim is to reduce

construction costs and whole-life costs of buildings by a third, while seeing those same buildings delivered in half the time and with a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from the sector.

In terms of sustainability, analysis shows that a standard Seismic module comprises 581.3kg CO2e per m2, which is well below the Construction 2025 target of 1300kg CO2e per m2. In addition, because Seismic can be reused, either by relocating modules to other sites or by refurbishing individual components and cassettes, it adds a 234kg CO2e per m2 clawback.

This brings Seismic well beyond even the lowest stretch targets being discussed in construction today.

Embracing a digital approach is a core pillar of the approach and encompasses design, production and operation, meaning the delivery of offsite healthcare buildings will use linked data from start to finish. This approach ensures that the building delivered on site matches the design intent, performs as expected and can be managed efficiently throughout its life.

In order to ensure continuity of care in a healthcare setting, we can provide additional modular hire space for staff and services while new permanent offsite facilities are constructed. Our temporary modular buildings, which can be several storeys high, are suitable for GP surgeries – such as that just deployed at James Paget University Hospitals NHS

Foundation Trust in Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, as a long-term facility to alleviate waiting times in the A&E – health centres, hospital wards, laboratories, emergency care facilities and more.

The way forward

It is now possible to deliver entire hospital buildings using offsite construction, although, until now, this method hasn’t been used to its full potential. Architects and specifiers now have access to everything from a single, small healthcare clinic to full turn-key health solutions, including design and planning, groundworks, installation, testing and commissioning. When based on the Seismic platform, it has the potential to transform the delivery of healthcare buildings, whether it’s for an individual ward or entire hospital.

Experience tells us that offsite construction enables whole developments to become more efficient and, crucially, can be safer, for example, due to less working at height and a shorter schedule on site.

We believe that there are clear benefits to choosing MMC for healthcare buildings, with new innovations, such as Seismic, making these even more pronounced. 2023 is shaping up to be a defining year for offsite and modular construction.

THE FUTURE OF ARBITRATION IN CONSTRUCTION

n the construction industry, disputes can be resolved or decided in a number of different forums, including arbitration.

The Arbitration Act has been around since 1996 and has set the framework for arbitration in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for 25 years (and not just for construction).

Now, the Law Commission has published a consultation paper on the Arbitration Act 1996, proposing changes “to ensure that the Arbitration Act 1996 remains state of the art”.

The consultation paper itself runs to 159 pages – so what are some of the key points you need to know about arbitration and what does the paper propose?

What is arbitration?

Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution that can be used as an alternative to litigating in court.

Generally, the parties who are in dispute will agree or already have agreed to appoint a third person (i.e. an arbitrator) to decide the dispute for them. Sometimes, they agree to appoint a panel of arbitrators, who then act together as a tribunal.

Broadly, the main benefits of arbitration over litigation revolve around confidentiality (where the dispute can be decided behind closed doors rather than in a public court room) and a potentially simpler and more flexible procedure (as litigation in the courts would have to comply with various detailed requirements including pre-action protocols, Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Directions and – for construction – the Technology & Construction Court Guide).

Why is the consultation needed?

In November 2021, the Law Commission announced plans to carry out a review of the Arbitration Act. The aim of the review

was stated as being “to ensure that the act remains state of the art, both for domestic arbitrations, and in support of London as the world’s first choice for international commercial arbitration”.

Off the back of that, the consultation paper was published on 22nd September 2022.

What’s in the consultation paper?

The areas covered in the paper relate to: Confidentiality

Independence of arbitrators and disclosure Discrimination

Immunity of arbitrators

Summary disposal of issues that lack merit Interim measures ordered by the court in support of arbitral proceedings

Jurisdictional challenges against arbitral awards Appeals on a point of law.

We have picked out some key interesting points for you below:

Confidentiality

We stated above that one of the main benefits of arbitration over litigation is around confidentiality. However, interestingly, the Arbitration Act does not contain express confidentiality and privacy provisions – should it?

The default position that arbitrations seated in England and Wales are private and confidential is established by case law. The consultation paper concludes that there is no need to codify confidentiality and this is best developed by the courts (as is currently the position) due to the dangers of having very general exceptions in any express amendments to the act. Whilst many arbitral rules (such as CIArb, ICC and LCIA) contain provisions that may potentially publicise arbitral hearings or certain details of an arbitration, in

our experience, parties tend to agree to keep their arbitration confidential. Having said that, as the Law Commission identifies, there are important exceptions that must be addressed appropriately, such as for an arbitral party seeking to enforce an award. These exceptions are (and will continue to be, if the Law Commission’s recommendations follow their consultation paper) developed through case law.

A summary disposal procedure

The consultation paper also considers whether an express provision to summarily dispose of issues, which obviously lack merit (akin to the summary judgment procedure in the courts) is needed, as there are currently no such provisions in the Arbitration Act.

The benefit of summary judgment in litigation is that the court can make a quick decision on an issue, which has no real prospect of success, and where there is no other compelling reason why that issue should be heard at trial. Making this decision can save both time and money, so you can see why the Law Commission would consider this for arbitration also.

Their paper, therefore, provisionally proposes making an express provision for a summary procedure (albeit one which is non-mandatory and open to the parties to agree). They recommend that, just as it is currently open to the parties to agree more generally on matters of procedure, this provision should be approached in the same way.

The scope of the proposals

One final point to note is that the changes proposed only apply to England and Wales.

Emily Leonard, Managing Associate, and Trainee Solicitor, Amane y Ehtash, at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, discuss arbitration in the construction industry and consider what the Arbitration Act’s latest review could have in store for those affected.

Emily Leonard is a Managing Associate, whilst Amaney Ehtash is a Trainee Solicitor at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson.

RETROFITTING: AN ENERPHIT INSULATION OVERHAUL FOR WILMCOTE HOUSE

Built in their thousands by local authorities in the 1960s and 1970s to address housing shortages and to re-accommodate those living in substandard homes, high-rise, hi gh-density housing is a prominent feature of Britain’s urban landscape.

With evolving living and regulatory needs, the thermal performance of these buildings often falls below today’s requirements, meaning remedial action is needed to bring them up to modern standards.

An example of this is Wilmcote House in Portsmouth, which required significant improvements – including retrofit insulation upgrades – to ensure quality of life for its residents.

Across a four-year programme, over 100 residences within Wilmcote’s three 11-storey blocks were set for upgrades to provide comfortable, safe and thermallyefficient homes for residents that will endure for years to come.

Wilmcote House would become the largest EnerPHit (the retrofit equivalent of Passivhaus) standard scheme delivered with residents in-situ. A key objective of the major renovation, designed and led by ECD Architects, was the creation of an environment capable of supporting the health and wellbeing of tenants.

The challenge

Wilmcote House was identified as one of Portsmouth City Council’s high-rise developments most urgently in need of improvement. Fuel poverty was a cause for concern, as well as damp, mould and condensation.

The University of Southampton aided by installing data loggers into properties, which revealed compelling results. Residents were not heating their homes to the World Health Organisation comfort level of 18°C, as their electric heating was too expensive.

Following a detailed appraisal, Portsmouth City Council engaged ECD Architects to design and lead a substantial renovation tasked with delivering the scheme to the ambitious EnerPHit standard in a bold, fabric-first approach. They targeted a reduction in dwelling heating demand by 90% and a minimum 30-year extension to the lifetime of the estate, with the entire project carried out as residents remained in situ.

The solution

ECD’s whole-building EnerPHit solution centred on deep retrofit. This involved the super-insulation of Wilmcote House using a combination of several products and systems, including a Rockpanelcladded facade system and a combination of ROCKWOOL external wall and flat-roof insulation together with a selection of the company’s fire-stopping and fireprotection products.

The ROCKWOOL external insulation was fitted as a 300/400mm zone fixed to newly-assembled, external steel frames to insulate and wrap the entire building. The result is improved thermal performance and enhanced airtightness, reducing draughts, condensation and mould growth.

“Due to the fabric improvements, we’re now more confident that the residents don’t need as much heating in their properties,” explains Steve Groves, Head of Building Maintenance at Portsmouth City Council. “In fact, we’re looking to

take out some of the existing storage heaters so that there is a maximum of two per property – one in the lounge and one in the downstairs hall.

“We’ve been through a winter season, so we know that residents in completed properties are not using their heating.”

Loreana Padron, Associate Director and Head of Sustainability at ECD Architects, comments: “Before, the residents tended to stay in one room with the heating on and not really use the whole flat. Now, because it is warm, they are using the whole flat and some have already reported improvements in terms of health.”

Other works at Wilmcote House included roof replacement, installation of triple-glazed windows, extension of the living areas, and more efficient heating and hot water and adjustment of the ventilation with a heat recovery system.

The refurbishment brought the community together by improving the appearance of the estate and investing occupants with a greater sense of pride in their surroundings.

Community engagement was a major theme throughout the project. Residents of Wilmcote House were comprehensively consulted on the refurbishment proposals via a series of resident open days and feedback sessions, and dialogue was maintained throughout the build.

The social and performance outcomes of the project will continue to be monitored by a partnership

between ROCKWOOL, the London School of Economics (LSE) and the University of Southampton.

The result

Wilmcote House is the largest residential EnerPHit project delivered with residents in-situ in the world and is a testament to what can be achieved by taking a holistic, fabric-first, people-focused approach to building refurbishment.

“Over the 30-year lifespan, the EnerPHit option makes financial and environmental sense,” comments James Traynor, Managing Director of ECD Architects. “With the simplicity of the system, the fact that you’re actually taking away or reducing the use of many technologies, except MVHR, which is running in the background, it was an obvious choice.”

The council has dramatically improved the living environment and quality of life of residents, investing in people, not just the physical condition of the housing stock to reduce future maintenance burdens. And the anecdotal evidence and feedback received so far has the project already proving to be a big success, as residents in completed properties experience the positive impacts on their health, wellbeing and reduced fuel bills.

In 2018, the scheme received two RICS awards – one for Design Through Innovation, another for Regeneration, and it also secured a Constructing Excellence Award for Sustainability.

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www.rockwool.com/uk

CAREFULLY-CRAFTED EUROPEAN OAK BRINGS TACTILE WARMTH TO UPLIFTING NEW LIBRARY

The Magdalene College Library at Cambridge University has won the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize for 2022, heavily featuring Flo rian-machined European oak and Latham’s Woodex.

uilt alongside the Grade I Listed Pepys Library, the new library is the first substantial addition to the main site in over 50 years.

The library design is based upon an arrangement of simple brick volumes with timber windows and pitched roofs echoing the gabled architecture of the existing college.

Inside, the building’s structure is clear to see. Glulam beams support cross-

laminated timber floor slabs, which are supported on load-bearing brick piers. The architect’s intention was for all the key features to appear as an interwoven set of elements.

Cambridge-based bespoke joinery firm Wedd Joinery was commissioned to manufacture all the furniture within the library including bookcases, desks and various other pieces. The specification was for solid timber, much to the joinery

company’s delight, with Magdalene College wanting to build something for the future generation.

Wedd chose to work with Florianmachined European oak on the advice of timber and materials supplier, James Latham. The team recommended the product due to its high-quality finish and strong performance.

Lathams’ extensive network and key supplier relationships provided a further advantage, as it was able to fulfil the specification and meet the demand for such a large order (3000 linear metres in total).

“We love working hand in hand with our customers, to help them to find the materials that are the right fit for their projects,” said Adrian Roker at Lathams. “It has been amazing to watch this project come to life, with one of our highestperforming products being used to such an exceptional standard.”

In addition to the solid lumber used in the library’s furniture, Lathams also recommended Woodex engineered Florian European oak for the external doors and windows. This ensured visual and stylistic consistency throughout the space, whilst harnessing engineered timber’s higher thermal-performance qualities and moisture and warping resistance, crucial for this type of application.

This highly-specialised work was carried out by Piper Joinery, which has a longstanding reputation for combining skill with agility. Brought onto the project by Wedd, Piper Joinery approached the task with its signature precision and attention to detail to achieve a seamless finish.

Simon Lock, Commercial Director at Wedd Joinery, said: “We have worked with Lathams for over 50 years. They will always be one of the companies we go to at the early stage of a project involving solid timber. At the end, it came down to the important balance of service, quality and price.

“I genuinely believe that a solid oak project on this scale is a once-in-alifetime opportunity and we are delighted to have been involved in it. The fact that we were part of the team that was recognised so highly for that work really is the icing on the cake.”

Royston Cobb, Managing Director at Piper Joinery, adds: “The Magdalene College Library presented the perfect opportunity for our team to showcase their considerable craftsmanship, which can be observed in the finesse of the joinery on the windows and doors. Working alongside some of the best in the design and build sector, as well as with such a high-quality material, was a great experience all round and the results speak for themselves.”

WATERPROOFING THAT MAKES THE GRADE

The use of modern methods of construction (MMC) is rapidly rising, especially across the education sector. The Department for Education’s (DfE) four-year, £3bn Offsite Schools Framework has underlined the Government’s commitment to MMC for new builds. The programme has been targeted to deliver approximately 30 offsite schools a year with many now coming to fruition.

MMC has many benefits, enabling primary and secondary schools to be built faster and more cost effectively, while delivering significant environmental benefits. Advances in technology also mean that modular builds are more durable than ever before. For optimum performance, however, each component of modular design must be carefully planned and the roof is no exception.

As the first line of defence, the roof of a modular school building must be as resilient as possible – and specifying an appropriate waterproofing membrane is a crucial part of the process. Importantly, the correct waterproofing can also drive further efficiencies in MMC and contribute to the building’s environmental credentials.

Ticking all the boxes

An EPDM single-ply membrane is one of the most effective for a modular build. Made from synthetic rubber, the product delivers benefits throughout the construction of a modular building as well as its service life.

To ensure the highest quality standards, each sheet of EPDM is cut to size and

applied to the pre-fabricated module in a controlled, factory setting. As the material is single ply, it is lightweight enabling it to be installed quickly and easily.

Safety conditions are enhanced as the EPDM is applied without the need for any hot works in an enclosed space. A RubberGard EPDM membrane, for example, is fully adhered to each module using a solvent- and odour-free adhesive, which can be quickly and safely applied inside a factory.

For any other details that need to be completed in the factory, the self-adhesive QuickSeam range of flashing accessories can be used. The RubberGard EPDM membrane laps the edge of each module so that when the sections are assembled on site, two surfaces of EPDM are mechanically clamped together ready to be sealed quickly and easily with QuickSeam cover strip.

This process allows most of the roofing works to be completed before the modules are delivered to site, avoiding weatherrelated delays and minimising onsite installation times.

Once adhered, EPDM membranes are immediately waterproof and remain flexible even in extreme temperatures as low as -450°C. This means the modules can be stored outside once completed, freeing up space within the factory.

As the EPDM membrane is made from a synthetic rubber compound, it is also highly flexible and can be elongated by more than 300% without any detriment.

If there is any movement or temperature change during the transport of the modular building, this elasticity prevents any damage to the waterproofing.

From an environmental perspective, EPDM can minimise impact in several ways. A membrane, such as RubberGard EPDM, is available in large panel sizes, which means each modular roofing unit can be easily covered with one piece, reducing joints and waste.

EPDM is also a chemically-inert material that does not contain any plasticiser and, when installed correctly, has a life expectancy of more than 50 years.

Futureproofing

Once a modular building has been constructed, the qualities of EPDM will help to protect the structure for many years, significantly reducing the risk of future costs or downtime.

The membrane’s flexibility enables it to return to its original shape and performance after severe weather and makes it resistant to UV, heat, hail and building movements. Minimal maintenance is required and, if needed, the EPDM membrane can be easily repaired using very simple tools, even after several years of exposure.

Should the building need to be altered or expanded in the future, modular units covered with EPDM can be easily dismantled, relocated and sealed back together again, even decades after their initial construction.

Carl Bailey, Regional Technical Manager UK & Ireland for Elevat e (formerly Firestone Building Products), explains how an EPDM single-ply roofing membrane can benefit modular school buildings.

Lessons learned

A recent modular build to benefit from an EPDM membrane is Abbey Farm Educate Together (ET) Primary School in north Swindon. The DfE appointed offsite construction specialist Reds10 to design and build the school as part of the Offsite Schools Framework.

Reds10 completed most of the building off site in its factory. Net-zero carbon in design, the school includes a wide range of sustainability features such as air-source heat pumps, photovoltaics, mechanical and natural ventilation, aluminium door and window frames made from recycled materials, floorboards with 50% recycled content and timber cladding.

The RubberGard EPDM membrane was specified by Reds10 for the school’s flat roof. Joe Shepherd, Education Lead at Reds10, commented: “With a desire to reduce carbon emissions during construction, Reds10 swiftly recognised the benefits of RubberGard EPDM. Not only is it a resilient membrane with a long service life, but its flexible structure provides security and protection during the transportation and location of each module onto the project site.

“RubberGard EPDM is also an inert material with low environmental impact, as zero toxic substances are released during and after installation, enabling the collection of runoff rainwater.”

The construction of Abbey Farm ET Primary School began in May 2021 and the new building opened its doors in September 2022. Run by the Educate Together Academy Trust, it caters for 460 pupils and is part of a wider residential-led, mixed-use development by Redrow.

Built to last Like roofing technology, construction techniques have advanced rapidly in recent years. MMC now delivers both sustainability and value within much shorter timeframes and with EPDM membranes, public sector specifiers and contractors can be assured that the roof of a modular school building will last for decades.

www.holcimelevate.com

FIRE SAFETY

PLANNING A SAFE EVACUATION

Most people have heard of the saying: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” And this wise adage, widely attributed to American Diplomat and Scientist Benjamin Franklin, is as relevant today as it was in the 1700s. Advanced planning is valuable in many aspects of a business – especially regarding fire safety.

The 2017 Grenfell tragedy and subsequent ongoing public inquiry have shone a spotlight on the numerous fire safety failings, from poor Government regulation to unsafe workmanship, both the likely result of insufficient planning.

Since the publication of the 2018 Building a Safer Future report, the sector has been under immense pressure to change its approaches and adopt safer ways of working. This report highlighted the need for a greater focus

on onsite safety, the specification of safe materials and the general lack of data recording.

Now with the Building Safety Act that came into effect in June last year, for the first time the industry has been issued clearer guidance for those buildings at “higher risk” – defined as buildings 18m in height or at least seven storeys with two or more residential units.

Emergency evacuation planning

When it comes to fire safety, emergency evacuation planning is essential for evacuating a location effectively and ensures a building remains compliant with the BS 8629 recommendations. An emergency evacuation plan also offers building owners and occupants excellent peace of mind.

With the changing nature of emergencies and the unique challenges of different building designs, we are seeing a growing need for tailor-made emergency plans, as no one solution fits all buildings.

High-rise buildings, in particular, need careful consideration. The requirement to evacuate large numbers of people across multiple floors, whilst coordinating the process swiftly and calmly, requires a bespoke solution to ensure that no stone remains unturned at the planning stage.

At Chubb, we have a seven-step rule regarding emergency evacuation planning – and we consider no plan complete until we have considered and addressed each step. This includes: fire prevention methods; devices to detect potential dangers; methods to contain and suppress fires; an early warning evacuation alert system; clear and concise evaluation rules, orders and procedures; occupant knowledge of the instructions; and adequate exit routes and alternative escape options to avoid danger.

High-rise evacuation alert system

Having an evacuation alert system in place is strongly recommended for EACIE (Evacuation Alert Control & Indicating Equipment) for tall buildings in England and Wales and is mandatory in Scotland.

In January 2022, we launched Chubb’s high-rise evacuation alert system –designed to warn and notify people at the earliest indication of fire and assist the UK’s Fire and Rescue Services in safely evacuating buildings over 18m.

Suitable for both new-build and retrofit applications, the system’s hybrid network capabilities allow building owners to tailor it to meet their specific requirements. It can also be continuously upgraded and extended to meet future legislative updates.

www.chubb.co.uk/high-rise-evacuation

David Foord, Sales Director at Chubb, explains why planning for a safe evacuation is vital to a building’s fire safety strategy.

WORKS COMPLETE AT NEW £4.3M FIRST SCHOOL IN UTTOXETER

Construction works have completed on a new first school on the Bramshall Meadows estate on Ivinson Way in Uttoxeter, Staffords hire. Midlands-based main contractor G F Tomlinson led on the construction of the school, with works starting on the 12,000m 2 site in 2021.

The school offers places for pupils from four to nine year olds, as well as nursery placements, and welcomed the first cohort of pupils in September.

Pupils also came together at the school to bury a historic time capsule, as part of an official launch ceremony, which will be resurrected in 25 years’ time. The capsule contained symbolic items from all the children as well as souvenirs from Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and a storybook about COVID-19 and the pandemic.

The £4.3m scheme was completed through Staffordshire County Council’s Capital Framework and designed, and project managed, by Entrust. Now complete, the school is led and managed by The Uttoxeter Learning Trust.

G F Tomlinson has been entrusted to deliver five schools to date for Staffordshire County Council with Bramshall Meadows First School being the latest, following the recently-completed Fradley Park Primary School in Lichfield.

The new, single-storey 1 form entry (1FE) first school was developed as part of a wider plan to expand first school provision in Uttoxeter in response to an increased demand for places generated from new housing in the local area, such as the Bramshall Meadows housing development. It represents the first school to be constructed in Uttoxeter in response to growth, comprising a nursery, classrooms, a multi-use hall, catering space, outdoor sports pitch, play areas and car parking with six electric charging points.

SCAN ME TO BRING THIS PROJECT TO LIFE

The project consisted of the construction of a flat roof with a single-ply membrane, the installation of toilets with vanity and Integrated Panel Systems (IPS) units and rooflights in each classroom of the corridor to provide a light environment. Features were incorporated into the design of the sports hall, such as acoustic panelling on the internal walls and ceiling sprinkler.

Construction methods were applied to the build, including a structural framing system (SFS), external walls and clad in brickwork and render. Cladding panels were also installed to the external walls of the hall.

The project was successfully completed on time and on budget, however, it didn’t come without its challenges. Due to the tight residential environment and adjacent contractor housing entrance, the front entrance of the site could not be used for deliveries. G F Tomlinson, therefore, had to create a new access, which cut across the proposed new sports pitch, meaning the construction of the pitch had to be rescheduled within the programme timelines. This resulted in the pitch being installed following the completion of the new build as opposed to before.

The lengthy development from a new housing project within the area, closely followed by the new school, caused the local community to experience building works close to their homes for a long period of time. To ensure minimal disruption to the residents, G F Tomlinson implemented strict control measures, including securing fencing around the site perimeter to ensure full segregation of construction works, and

deliveries were carefully scheduled apart to avoid congestion on the surrounding roads and peak times for residents. Employee and visitor parking was also only permitted on site, rather than on neighbouring residential roads, and regular newsletters were issued to residents to keep them informed of the progress and planned works.

One of the major factors in construction today is the delays of material supplies. To avoid this, G F Tomlinson placed material deliveries earlier than usual and stored these on site, within a designated materials area to mitigate delays.

Chris Flint, Managing Director at G F Tomlinson, said: “We feel very privileged to have been able to deliver this brandnew, high-quality school building for Staffordshire County Council, which has created much-needed school places for children in the local area. The project is the first to be completed in response to the rise in demand for places within Uttoxeter and we feel very proud.

“It was fantastic to see the school welcome pupils in September as the children took their first steps to embark on their academic

journeys. The school has been designed with future growth and expansion very much in mind to provide an excellent learning environment for the growing community.”

Jonathan Price, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “Bramshall Meadows has been built in response to increased housing in the area, which has meant there will be more demand for school places. Whenever there is new housing in an area, we always work with developers, local schools and the Department for Education to put plans in place to meet increased demand for school places.

“It’s fantastic that local children are able to learn in a brand-new school with lots of amazing facilities, and I am sure they have enjoyed starting school life.”

Andrea Cairns, Executive Headteacher at Bramshall Meadows First School, commented: “We are absolutely delighted with the new school and the high quality of the build project with all its amazing facilities.”

www.gftomlinson.co.uk www.bramshallmeadows.org.uk

SCAN ME TO BRING THIS PROJECT TO LIFE

DUDLEY COUNCIL TRANSFORMS ITS LEISURE PROVISION

The face of Dudley is changing and that includes its leisure centres as the town centre undergoes a near £1bn regeneration programme over the next decade.

Residents in Halesowen, West Midlands, are enjoying a completely re-invigorated leisure experience thanks to a major upgrade of the town’s leisure centre.

Delivered by Alliance Leisure for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, the development has seen the tired and outdated Halesowen Leisure Centre transformed into a vibrant activity hub

with a new mix of facilities that have been expressly chosen to meet the needs of the entire community.

The extensive project was carried out in two phases. The first got underway in February 2021 and saw the former learner pool and changing rooms converted into a new reception area, cafe and a large adventure play area to serve local families. Further works included

the addition of a new wellness suite, complete with a studio featuring powerassisted exercise equipment. Beneficial for older adults, those new to exercise, recovering from injury and people living with long-term health conditions, the specialist studio allows the centre to engage with people who are put off or cannot use a mainstream gym.

The redevelopment also included extending the existing gym with the addition of new equipment and refurbishing the exercise studio. Facilities have been made more accessible with provision of a lift as well as the creation for the first time of a changing room for people with support needs.

Outside, the building’s facade was replaced and landscaping works carried out to improve the overall visual appeal and entrance. This phase completed in December 2021.

Phase two followed immediately and completed in November 2022. This included the reconfiguration of the pool area to create a 25m main pool and 12.5m learner pool supported by a new changing village. All facilities cater for those with accessibility issues, creating opportunities for use by all members of the community.

“This project has brought the town’s leisure provision back in line with the diverse needs of today’s community,” says Julia Goddard, Senior Business Development Manager at Alliance Leisure.

“Leisure provision needs to keep up with the changing needs of the community. Dudley Council recognised this and invested in creating a sustainable provision that will support a healthy and active community both now and in the future.”

Delivered via the UK Leisure Framework, which is owned and managed by Denbighshire Leisure, Alliance leisure worked closely with construction partner, Speller Metcalfe as well as project manager Axiom to deliver both phases of the project.

“It has been fantastic to get to the completion of construction works at the leisure centre – in particular the swimming pool, which will be a highlight for users,” said Rob Lashford, Regional Director at Speller Metcalfe.

“We know how important facilities such as these are to the local community, and we’re delighted to have worked with the council, Axiom and Alliance Leisure to make this scheme a reality for Halesowen.”

The multi-million-pound redevelopment of Halesowen Leisure Centre marks the completion of a multi-site leisure regeneration programme for Dudley Council; the biggest outlay on leisure services in the borough for decades, which has transformed the visitor experience for Dudley residents.

Working in partnership with Alliance Leisure, the council also invested £4.1m in the extensive re-modelling of Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge in 2021.

The outdated changing rooms were completely remodelled with more familyfocused facilities, and the experience for swimmers was improved. The 25m pool was drained and refilled, and improved lighting was installed. In the leisure pool, new artwork adorns the slides and a new beach-style tiki hut was installed poolside for the return of the popular Bondi Beat disco sessions.

The council also addressed a backlog of repairs and maintenance items, installed energy-efficient lighting in a number of areas as well as a £600,000 ground-source heat pump – one of the many ways the council is responding to climate change.

This project was followed by the building of a new, £18.2m leisure centre in Dudley. Opened in January 2022, the Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre includes two swimming pools, a sports hall, gym, immersive spin studio, fitness studios, soft play, wellness suite and cafe.

In October last year, nine months after the launch of Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre, membership at council leisure centres in the borough had soared to record levels passing the 6000 mark for the first time.

“The completion of extensive work significantly improves our leisure provision for residents across the borough,” says Councillor Simon Phipps, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Enterprise at Dudley Council.

“In partnership with Alliance Leisure, we set about designing a future where everyone’s leisure needs are catered for. Investment now will create a sustainable future for our leisure centres that will support the welfare of our borough’s population for generations to come.”

WHY LOW-CARBON HEATING CAN BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

Oliver Baker, CEO at Ambion Heating, talks to PSBJ about how to sustainably heat the millions of ‘missing’ smaller properties, where installing a large low-carbon heating system just isn’t feasible.

Protecting consumers and non-domestic energy users, including public sector organisations, against rising energy prices has been a major focus in recent months. The two schemes outlined by the Government –the Energy Price Guarantee for households and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme for non-domestic organisations – will no doubt provide welcome relief.

However, both schemes will only run for an initial six months. That is why it is important that a longer-term approach, that focuses on helping households and public sector organisations to reduce the amount of energy they consume, is put in place.

For social housing providers in particular, installing technologies to help them meet their low-carbon requirements without pushing residents and tenants into fuel poverty is even more vital.

Indeed, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund – currently in wave 2.1, which will allocate up to £800m of funding to support the installation of energy performance measures in social homes in England –has proven to be extremely popular. Its primary aim is to upgrade homes that have an EPC rating below C, and replacing inefficient heating systems is seen as a key priority for many landlords.

However, you would be forgiven for thinking that there is only one solution on offer – heat pumps. In fact, there are alternative options that are often better suited to many social housing properties, particularly smaller homes or accommodation blocks.

Here, we outline some of the benefits of heat pump alternatives, such as low-carbon heat panels, for social housing providers.

Space-saving sustainability

As mentioned, there is one issue that doesn’t get a huge amount of attention when it comes to decarbonising the UK’s varied housing stock – space. There are millions of properties, including accommodation blocks, terraces and smaller houses, where installing a large low-carbon heating system just isn’t feasible. This means they are often relying on less efficient systems to heat their properties, and are, therefore, consuming more energy.

As a result, there is an increased demand for space-saving energy solutions. This is where systems such as low-carbon heat panels really come into their own –they can be easily fitted into a property and require no large outdoor space.

A cost-effective solution

Without doubt, when it comes to lowcarbon heating, super-efficient electric heating technologies are the way forward. However, electricity is often seen as the more expensive option when compared to gas.

Low-carbon heat panels have a unique control system, which uses constant dynamic pulsing – rather than a ‘zoning’ on/off approach used by other systems – to dramatically reduce energy usage and maintain a room’s temperature within 0.1°C of its target, 24 hours a day.

Discreet infrared heat panels are then used because building materials absorb and store infrared, releasing it between pulses, making it the perfect partner for the pulsing approach.

The results of using dynamic pulsing plus the infrared panels are significant. Users can expect to use 63% less electricity when compared to conventional systems, which also equates to a 63% reduction in carbon emissions.

The system also reduces the unit cost of electricity because it works best across 24 hours. This flat demand profile (there are no morning or evening energy spikes in usage) means that if a homeowner is on a flexi tariff, the system can achieve around a 25% saving on the unit cost of energy.

So, if you put those two things together – the 63% reduction in electricity usage with the 25% saving on unit cost – the running cost is very comparable with gas.

Easy to install

Moving to a low-carbon heating system doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. For example, low-carbon heat panels can easily be fitted into a new home or building, used in modular properties, or retrofitted to replace an existing gas or electric heating system. The installation cost is also much less than heat pumps.

In addition, the units are compact and easy to install, because they simply need

wiring into the mains rather than plumbing in, as there is no central boiler, external unit or water-based delivery system.

A futureproof solution for social housing

For us, there is only one sensible choice for the low-carbon transition – superefficient electric heating. However, we know that public sector organisations

and social housing providers are under pressure to make every penny count. That is why it is important that a range of technologies are considered so they can meet decarbonisation objectives without risking fuel poverty among their tenants, ensuring the transition is accessible to all.

HOW DIGITAL SPECIFICATION CAN HELP ACHIEVE THE UN’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to create hea lthier and happier communities by improving the world around us. For the public sector, which is responsible fo r the quality of social housing, schools, colleges and even healthcare facilities, these goals have never been more re levant. Lee Jones, Head of Manufacturing Solutions at NBS and Acting Head of Sustainability at Byggfakta Group, ex plains why SDGs need to be prioritised and how digital specification is key to reaching 2030 targets.

Created back in 2015, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals provide guidance on improving the life of the planet, part of which presents a framework for how wellness and wellbeing can be introduced throughout society. As part of its guidance, it focuses on how our surroundings can affect our health and welfare. Although it’s been eight years since they were first introduced, its core values are still as relevant as ever – particularly for the public sector, which is responsible for buildings that we live, learn and work in.

There has been a lot of media coverage in relation to various failings, particularly connected to social housing of late. Given that we have just eight years left to achieve the UN’s SDGs, it’s clear there’s a long road ahead until all public sector residential buildings meet acceptable living standards.

For architects and building designers working with the public sector, it means creating homes and other buildings that exceed expectations. Through a greater emphasis on building processes, quality control and materials, the industry can raise its game. However, whilst standards need to improve, there also remains the challenge of climate change –dwellings need to work with our environment rather than against it, whilst keeping energy bills low.

Shining example

Achieving these goals is possible and we only need to look at exemplary projects in the UK to see how it can be done. Social housing projects, such as Goldsmith Street in Norwich, combine Passivhaus design with sunny, light-filled homes. As the largest social housing scheme to achieve full Passivhaus certification, it ensures that fuel bills are kept to a minimum whilst creating homes that are a joy to live in.

Lee Jones is Head of Manufacturing Solutions at NBS and Acting Head of Sustainability at Byggfakta Group

Orchard Gardens in Elephant and Castle in London is another example – showing how public sector housing can cater to dense communities whilst still providing quality homes and access to outdoor space. With an estimated one million households currently on waiting lists for social housing in England alone1, the industry needs to ensure that similar projects can be increasingly recreated across the UK.

Managing building information

This demand is proving why greater levels of data and building information are needed within construction. With the ongoing challenge of rising temperatures and skyhigh energy bills, having access to detailed data can help the public sector build more sustainably whilst creating homes that prioritise mental and physical health.

Architectural practices are also reporting a rise in design and health requirements – the likes of BREEAM, SKA and Living Building Challenge are increasingly included in design specifications. To ensure that these requests are met, robust building product information is needed to help specifiers understand exactly what they’re dealing with. This knowledge allows them to choose the lowest carbon option available and ensure low VOC presence.

A two-way street However, if architects are to put their best foot forward, building product manufacturers also need to play their part. Specifiers are limited to the information they have available and without updated manufacturer specs,

there’s a risk that outdated or incorrect information could make it into the final building spec. For manufacturers, this includes avoiding greenwashing and being as honest and upfront as possible in terms of a product’s environmental performance and safety credentials. Providing certifications, such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), help specifiers gauge how sustainable a product is during selection. These are objective, third-party-verified documents that provide transparent sustainability data around a product’s lifecycle.

The increasingly legislative landscape is also placing an emphasis on the quality of homes and their energysaving capabilities. Updated changes to Part L of the Building Regulations, for example, are redefining standards for the energy performance of new and existing buildings. Given recent events, Approved Document F, relating to ventilation, could also need reform. However, without digitally-supplied data and a further uptake of digital specification, architects will be unable to meet the standards required to enact these changes.

With reports that major progress is still needed to deliver the SDGs at the level expected of the UN 2 and with four million people living in social housing in the UK 3 , prioritising these goals will not only help improve living standards but it will also aid the fight against climate change. Now, it’s a case of realising the potential of digital specification in creating a better built environment – our health and happiness may depend on it.

Sources:

1https://www.buildtestsolutions.com/energyperformance-in-social-housing

2https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/

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3https://www.ft.com/content/3625aeb1-f1034cbb-8246-0e97d221ba8a

FIRE DOOR FAILURE: SPOTTING THE FAULTS

Upon operation, a fire door calls on its many elements – all of which must function in tandem to ensure the door is effective in a fire situation. Generally, there are eight core areas to consider when conducting regular risk assessments and spotting potential faults.

Door furniture

When opening or closing a door, our hands instinctively reach out for the handle. Should it be absent, or even loose, it could affect whether a door can be opened in an emergency. Because of this, a handle should always remain installed on a fire door and its screws tight. Bolt-through fixings pass right through the door and the lock or latch case, and will strengthen the installation of handles by preventing the screws from moving or becoming loose. Check whether the handle operates smoothly and returns freely to a horizontal position after use, too. Finally, if the fire door in question is on an escape route, it must open in the direction of travel, without the use of a key. Keep it simple, but effective.

Hinges

Hinges are a necessary pivot-action fixing that provides the movement to a door. A standard-height fire door requires the installation of three hinges minimum, with intumescent pads fitted. A door standing over 2.2m will require four hinges. This will prevent the door from warping in a fire due to its weight, and so should you see a fire door only hung on two hinges, it must be changed. Again, screws must be fitted securely, and the hinges themselves must be free of metal fragments and oil leakage as this could indicate signs of wear. When it comes to certification, check for CE or BS EN 1935 marks. Hinges may be hidden somewhat, but they can never be overlooked.

Locks and latches

To form an effective barrier against fire, a fire door must close fully. Locks and latches help to keep doors held shut and so must be fixed firmly and working correctly. Upon inspection, it’s important to check whether the latch engages fully into the strike plate and whether the

door can be held firmly in place without rattling. Failure to do so may indicate faulty or damaged hardware. Like hinges, check for metal dust deposits – typically located on the latch bolt or strike plate –as this could also show wear or damage.

Door closers

Door closers facilitate the operation of a fire door and must be UKCA and CE marked and tested to EN 1154. When opened, a fire door should fully engage into the door frame every time, shutting tight by use of its own self-closing device. When conducting checks, the trick is to open a door to 5° or 75mm, and upon letting it go, it should close and engage the latch successfully. Failing to do so could indicate the door closer has been incorrectly installed or damaged and, therefore, needs adjustments or replacing. Adjustments can be made to the closing power and speed of door closers, and in busy environments, such as schools and hospitals, a prolonged closing action is useful, giving people extra time to pass through the doorway.

Kirk Smith of Allegion UK discusses fire door neglect and how t o spot the potential faults that could be compromising your fire safety procedures.

Hold-open devices

Buildings with high footfall may benefit from approved, electromagnetic hold-open devices tested to BS EN 1155, which permit open fire doors that automatically release to close in the event of a fire. Naturally, these systems are more complex and regular maintenance is mandatory, so it’s vital to spot any potential faults, such as the door straining against its self-closing device upon operation. Should an electromagnetic hold-open device not release the door when a fire alarm is activated, a problem has occurred and must be resolved immediately.

Exit devices

Exit devices are designed to provide safe and effective escape through a doorway with minimum effort. All panic and emergency exit devices must be functioning correctly, with fixings on the operating device, bolts and strikes tightly fit. Emergency exit devices and panic exit devices should be tested to BS EN 179 and BS EN 1125 respectively, as well as UKCA and CE marked. Aside from their mechanical operation, it’s critical to keep emergency exits clear and without obstruction –assisting a quick escape when called upon.

Door seals

When rated FD30 or FD60, a fire door is certified to resist smoke and fire for 30 or 60 minutes, respectively. For this to remain true, a doorset must be fitted with intumescent seals, which, in the event of a fire, expand significantly to close the gap between the door and its frame. Intumescent seals should track continuously around the frame or door leaf and must remain in good condition, intact and undamaged. If you can see excessive gaps between the side of the door and the frame, a fire door may be ineffective. A maximum gap of 3mm is recommended around all fire doors and can be assessed with simple gap tester tools.

Signage

Although not a mechanical element of a fire door, signage plays an important role in fire door safety and must be considered when checking for faults. Providing quick and key information in an emergency, ‘Fire Door Keep Shut’ signage must be fitted to both sides of a fire door. Additionally, ‘Automatic Fire Door Keep Clear’ signs must appear on fire doors with hold-open devices and ‘Fire Door Keep Locked’ signs must be fitted to doors without self-closing devices – which can commonly be found in storerooms and cupboards.

A complete and functional fire door is a prerequisite for fire safety, and regular maintenance periods are required to ensure they retain their standard while in operation.

The first step is to understand the various components of a fire doorset and the potential faults to look out for when evaluating its condition. Should any doubt linger, it’s crucial to seek out professional advice immediately. Checks can save lives but where action is an obligation, knowing what to look out for is only half of the responsibility.

TOP TIPS ON HOW TO EMBED SOCIAL VALUE INTO YOUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Clare Chamberlain, Head of Construction Category at Crown Commercial Service, discusses the importance of social value in construction projects and gives her top tips to ensure it’s not missed off the list.

he PPN 06/20 policy note highlighted changes that mean public sector buyers are required to think differently about how they secure social value from the goods and services they buy for their local area.

This significant policy change meant that social value became a mainstream priority in all public sector procurement from 2021.

What does this mean for your building and construction projects?

Our construction frameworks allow customers to embed social value in the way most appropriate to their circumstances.

There’s a wide range of social-value-related considerations, such as opportunities for disadvantaged groups, contributing to achieving healthy communities, driving climate change, and, with recent impacts of EU exit on labour, social value that considers upskilling the workforce and providing job opportunities has become more important than ever.

To ensure that there are clear lines of sight between your social value expectations and what suppliers can offer, here’s our five top tips on what you need to consider.

1. Embed throughout the project

Focus on embedding social value considerations throughout the project. For larger projects, consider a project-specific social value strategy. Don’t wait until the main contractor tender to start thinking about it either, consider writing clear guidance around social value and what is expected into the brief.

2. Don’t ask for everything

Early community engagement brings tailored social outcomes. This will help your team to be able to focus on what social value outcomes you want for your project and help to avoid you asking for everything. What are the key themes for the area of construction? Does it have a high unemployment rate? Is it in a built-up area with limited community space? Engage with local charities and social enterprises to find out what’s important to them.

3. Consider what questions to ask at tender stage

Tailor your questions to be project specific and drive a smart answer. Think carefully about who you ask to assess and score these questions – it should be someone with the right skills and experience to know a good answer from a bad one.

4. Make it contractual and monitor Getting some great social value outcomes at the tender stage is fantastic, but it’s really important that this is fed through and delivered. One way to do this is to convert these promises into social value KPIs that are monitored throughout.

5. Ask for data

Include clear instructions on exactly what you want captured. For example, if you’re asking for contractors to train apprentices, ask them to record apprentice initials and postcode, the programme, level and start and end dates, so that you can interrogate the data. Ensure your contract has a ‘right to audit’ clause and that any data you collect is GDPR compliant.

CHOSEN TO PERFORM

Pilkington Suncool™ Range Solar Control Glass

Manufactured in the UK, the Pilkington Suncool™ Range offers high performance solar control, low-emissivity glazing for both commercial and residential applications. With varying levels of solar control, thermal insulation, and light transmittance, you can specify the most ideal glass for your projects, while `future-proofing’ for the new Approved Documents L and O.

Specify Pilkington Suncool™ for your project through us at enquiries@pilkington.com, or arrange the supply via one of our trusted partners at www.pilkington.co.uk/suncoolpartners

© Lars Ditlev Pedersen

SURFACE DESIGN SHOW 7-9TH FEBRUARY 2023

DISCOVER THE LATEST MATERIAL INNOVATIONS AT SURFACE DESIGN SHOW 2023

Held from 7 to 9th February 2023, the Surface Design Show will once again be showcasing the best in material innovation. A well-established part of the design calendar for nearly 20 years, the show returns to London’s Busi ness Design Centre. It provides the perfect opportunity for material experts and th e architectural and design community to come together under one roof.

isitors to the Surface Design Show 2023 will be inspired by over 150 exhibitors, many of whom will be launching new products, plus diverse displays of surface-based installations and a comprehensive speaker programme featuring accomplished industry professionals who are passionate about the future of surface design.

Supporting emerging material designers has always been important to the Surface Design Show. That is why the New Talent section will, for the fourth year in a row, be held in partnership with Trendease International. Its Chief Creative Director, Jennifer Castoldi, will be curating over 30 ‘New Talents’ this year. The section will inspire and excite visitors with the ‘class of 23’ showcasing a fascinating mix of biomaterials, natural materials, digital print, textiles, furniture, wallcovering, weaving and biopolymers.

Located right in the heart of the exhibition, the Surface Design Show welcomes back Surface Spotlight Live (SSL). This area gives visitors a chance to touch and compare the latest material

prototypes. Centred around this year’s theme, ‘Shaping Communities’, SSL will highlight the importance of new exchanges between surfaces, people and environments. This section of the show will again be curated by leading trend and colour expert, Sally Angharad.

The talks programme is always a particular highlight of the Surface Design Show. The Main Stage, designed by Emily Skinner of recycling pioneer Smile Plastics, will host 18 different presentations and feature more than 40 speakers, inspiring a professional audience of architects and designers.

Setting the tone for the live events programme will be the Opening Night Debate, hosted this year by Jonathan Smales, Executive Chairman of Human Nature, a leading proponent of sustainable development. The debate, which has CDUK as the official partner, will question how architecture and interior design professionals are dealing with the show’s theme of Shaping Communities.

Over the two and a half days, the Main Stage will host a range of debates,

www.surfacedesignshow.com

panels, trend forecasts and insights into the latest surface design innovations. It will also be the venue for the Legends Live series of ‘in conversations’ in partnership with Mix Interiors, where industry leaders interview someone they admire.

Another popular element of the show is the Surface Design Awards. Now in their 11th year, they continue to set a benchmark for architectural and design achievements across the world. More than 110 projects were entered into the 2023 Surface Design Awards, coming from an impressive 24 different countries. The BAFTA headquarters in London by Benedetti Architects, which scooped the Supreme Winner award in 2022, set the standard for excellence in surface design. Following the success of its debut last year, the Architectural Photography category returns once more for 2023.

Surface Design Show 2023 builds on the success of the event, which has been running for over 15 years, as a place to encourage a meaningful exchange of ideas between manufacturers and the marketplace to further material innovation.

NEW CPD AVAILABLE ON BIOPHILIC DESIGN AND BIODIVERSITY

The UK is facing a mental health crisis. Everyone working in co nstruction will be aware of how much the built environment can affect the wellbeing of occupants. Nature-inspired or biophilic design has been proven to improve educational outcomes in education, speed up recovery or reduce the need for medication in the health sector and provide a more relaxed and human work environment for office workers.

TG Escapes Modular Eco-Buildings has produced a certified CPD in partnership with Building Magazine, which explores the themes of biophilic design and biodiversity net gain.

This CPD will address the advantages of including both these elements in the built environment, within the context of the construction industry’s strategies to achieve better outcomes for a building’s occupants. It includes an overview of the 10 patterns of biophilic design, their attributes and benefits.

Can buildings be built in such a way that they provide a positive impact upon

people’s everyday lives? The answer to this in recent years has been a resounding yes.

The construction industry has embraced a number of building performance systems to reflect the drive towards designing and delivering buildings that increase the wellbeing of occupants, through the use of natural elements such as sunlight and fresh air.

Building performance systems, such as WELL assess, measure, certify and monitor features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind.

Biophilia and biophilic design

A number of academics and researchers have looked into the positive effects of nature being incorporated into the built environment. In 1984, US Biologist Edward Wilson argued that humanity’s affinity for nature was innate and evolutionary, and that it binds us all to other species.

Biophilic design provides a calming environment that benefits occupants, whether in homes, schools, hospitals or workplaces. Growing numbers of firms across the construction industry are approaching building schemes with a mindset that revolves around biophilia.

The word ‘biophilia’ is derived from the Greek ‘bio’, meaning life, and ‘philia’ often being translated as ‘brotherly love, friendship or affection’.

In Greek and Roman architecture, openair courtyards were the centre of the home, with gardens, fountains and sculptures providing a calming respite, fresh air, natural light and views of nature.

Biodiversity in construction

As well as employing biophilic techniques when drawing up plans for a project, construction firms are increasingly being encouraged – and, in some cases, mandated – to consider creating biodiversity gains across their schemes.

Biodiversity is essential to maintain a healthy, stable environment which, in turn, is crucial for the continued provision of life systems upon which human life depends. A healthy ecosystem also plays a vital role in climate stability and disease limitation.

For new builds where biodiversity net gain is a prerequisite, the industry could be making much more of the opportunity this presents to think about enhancing one or more of the biophilic principles referenced in this CPD module.

To take the CPD online, visit cpd.building.co.uk/courses/cpd-14-2022incorporating-biophilia-and-biodiversity

www.tgescapes.co.uk 0800 917 7726 info@tgescapes.co.uk

ACCELERATED CARE CAPACITY THANKS TO WERNICK BUILDINGS

North Devon Hospital required a new building to reduce its orth opaedic surgery backlog. To increase its elective bed capacity as quick ly as possible, the trust opted for a modular building. A modular sol ution also complemented the spatial constraints on site.

The trust went out to the marketplace using the NHS SBS framework to find a modular building provider. It specified a building that not only met the trust’s obligations under the Health Technical Memoranda (HTM) and Health Building Notes (HBN) but one that also exceeded full compliance.

For ease of use for clinical and maintenance staff from day one, the trust required an ‘out-of-the-box’ solution for building fit-out.

The solution

Just 20 weeks after the trust placed its order with Wernick Buildings, it was welcoming its first patients. The trust named its new building the ‘Jubilee Ward’, yet the client couldn’t imagine that the space would be open and functional weeks before the Queen’s celebrations.

Over two days, Wernick installed the modules on the site of an acute care hospital at full capacity, intending to reduce disruption as much as possible.

A link structure between the main hospital building and the new modular building provides a continuous transition for patients.

The hospital now serves an extra 25 orthopaedic patients a week in the new £1.4m building, which Wernick completed with two four-bed wards, two one-bed wards, accessible bathrooms, ancillary rooms and staff areas. Medical services supplier MIG provided specialist ward equipment.

Client comment

Marsh Pullen, Capital Contracts Manager for the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, commented: “Our experience of working with the Wernick team is very professional. They said they could deliver us a ward on time, on budget and they have, and that speaks volumes. There was a lot of harmony. Whenever we had a problem, it was overcome collectively – and that proactive attitude shows through in the outcome. Wernick has delivered us a fantastic ward, which I’d put up against any ward in the UK for quality, speed of delivery and affordability.”

www.wernick.co.uk 0800 112 4640

FACT FILE:

Project name: North Devon Hospital Sector: Healthcare Location: Barnstaple, Devon Client name: Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Supplied by: Wernick Buildings

Project duration: 20 weeks

Accommodation type: Single-storey modular ward block Size: Nine modules/403m²

Features: Hospital wards, staff room, kitchen, accessible bathrooms and reception

ZENTIA CEILING SYSTEMS HELP A REDEVELOPED SCHOOL WIN A NATIONAL AWARD

A range of Zentia’s suspended ceiling tiles and grid systems have been used as part of an award-winning project to transform one of Northumberland’s largest schools. The Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham, Northumberland, was crowned Project of the Year – Schools, at the Education Estates Awards in November 2022.

A total of almost 11,000m2 of Zentia’s Dune eVo, Perla, Hydroboard, Bioguard and Hygiene tiles, all in white, as well as Colortone Neeva tiles in black, were specified by Ryder Architecture for the £38m redevelopment.

Zentia manufactured and supplied a versatile range of ceiling solutions to suit a variety of environments with variable performance requirements. The judges said the scheme was “a great design solution on a challenging site that includes a listed building” and a “beautiful integration, well presented”.

Working with contractor Galliford Try and two specialist sub-contractors, Keyes Brothers Construction and Riss, Zentia supplied a total of 8670m2 of Cradle to Cradlecertified Dune eVo Tegular and Max Tegular for use in the classrooms and corridors. An additional 615m2 of laminated Perla dB Tegular and 1000m2 of Perla OP 0.95 Tegular was used on the top floor, as well as in specific classrooms requiring additional acoustics, such as music rooms and workshops.

In addition, the Colortone Neeva with black grid and trim was used in the assembly room and lecture theatre; 140m2 of Bioguard Plain Tegular, known for its antimicrobial performance, was used in the kitchen; 60m2 of Hydroboard, a specialist tile designed for high humidity areas, in the toilets, and 440m2 of Hygiene, a tile suitable for high-pressure cleaning in the kitchen and dining hall.

In the more humid environments of the kitchen and toilets, the tiles were used with a non-corrosive trim and grid. SIG in Newcastle acted as the distributor of these products to ensure a seamless delivery to site.

TORMAX OPENS THE DOOR TO WORK

Allowing clear and easy access for all jobseekers, TORMAX was contracted to install an automatic sliding entrance to a new Dundas Job Centre that was opened during the pandemic, under the Government’s Plan for Jobs.

With an external frontage located on a main thoroughfare within the local shopping centre, it was important that the Job Centre was made to be as welcoming as possible to every possible user.

The bi-parting sliding doors are powered by the in-house-designed TORMAX Win Drive 2201 operator, delivering smooth operation, even on the busiest of days. Housed in a casing that measures just 142 x 100mm, the Win Drive is neat and compact, helping create a professional and contemporary aesthetic. Further encouraging jobseekers to enter, the entrance is fully compliant with current legislation, offering a wide-open doorway for the less able, as well as for those with buggies and prams, for example.

Simple two-key programming allows Job Centre staff to quickly adapt door-opening

and -closing speeds to reflect the volume of foot traffic and weather, helping minimise heat loss from the reception area. When the facility is closed, security is assured thanks to an electromechanical bolt that delivers a solid and secure locking mechanism.

“With TORMAX, you get the complete package – bespoke design, prompt manufacture and installation as well as ongoing maintenance from our team of professionally-trained engineers,”

www.zentia.com 0800 371849 marketing@zentia.com www.tormax.co.uk 01932 238040 sales@tormax.co.uk

“With worldwide coverage and over 65 years of expertise, TORMAX really is a company that can be relied on to deliver truly outstanding entrance solutions, even in the testing times that were presented by the pandemic.”

confirms Simon Roberts, Managing Director for TORMAX.

WHY DO THE WORLD’S LEADING DANCE UNIVERSITIES AND SCHOOLS CHOOSE HARLEQUIN FLOORS?

Dance students can spend hours working in a dance studio. It is their place of work and should offer a safe environment fit for purpose. The floor is a dancer’s most important work tool and dancers need reassurance they are not going to slip and fall, t hat lifts can be performed safely and, on landing from jumps, the response of the floor consistently returns the right amount of energy absorption.

It is a common assumption that a well-designed sports floor will suit the needs of dancers, but this is not the case.

There are some critical factors that distinguish the requirements of dance from those of sports played on a sports floor. Unlike sportspeople who wear increasingly high-tech air-cushioned shoes to give grip and protect against impact injuries, the modest ballet shoe has barely changed in design since the mid-18th century. Made from soft leather, canvas or satin, the ballet shoe is very flexible, has a thin sole and offers little protection for the wearer.

But not all dance floors are the same. Only a floor developed specifically for dance will do. There may be a temptation to specify floors for aesthetic or budget reasons, or to specify sports floors in the mistaken belief they will be suitable for dance, but there have been some high-profile examples where floors have had to be replaced by a dance company after the building is complete.

Harlequin is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities on dance floors. As an enlightened manufacturer, Harlequin has always

ZENTIA RENAMES ONE OF ITS MOST POPULAR CEILING TILE RANGES

Leading UK ceiling manufacturer Zentia is bringing together and renaming three of its most popular mineral tiles. The new Fission range will comprise Fission (formerly Tatra), Fission ND (formerly Cortega) and Fission FT (formerly Fine Fissured), which are all fire rated to Euroclass A2-s1,d0.

worked closely with the dance community to develop floors that dancers want to dance on. There is no doubt, the choice of flooring is critical. For over 40 years, Harlequin has been the performance floor of choice for the world’s most prestigious dance and performing arts companies, theatres, venues and schools.

Harlequin offers free advice to ensure dance companies, schools and venues install dance floors best suited to their particular use.

uk.harlequinfloors.com/en 01892 514888 architects@harlequinfloors.com

Despite the renaming, there are no changes to the products or their technical performance, and they are still warrantied for up to 30 years (when fitted with the Zentia grid system). Alongside this, they are manufactured with up to 51% recycled content and remain 100% recyclable.

Fission and Fission ND are white tiles available in two different edge details – Board (600 x 600mm and 1200 x 600mm), and Tegular (600 x 600mm) for greater design flexibility. The Board edges fully expose the suspended ceiling grid, while the Tegular tiles are rebated, creating a semi-bevelled visual.

Featuring directional and non-directional fissured patterns, they balance the need for sound absorption and sound attenuation in open-plan spaces such as atria, libraries, storage facilities and warehouses.

The premium product in the Fission range is Fission FT, which is available in black as well as white and in three different edge details (Board, Tegular and MicroLook). The MicroLook edge is designed for use with Zentia’s 15mm grid range, with a vertical edge creating crisp shadowed effects. Its ultra-fine nondirectional fissured pattern offers an optimum balance between sound absorption and sound attenuation.

All three ceiling tiles are suitable for new-build and refurbishment projects in the commercial, industrial and retail sectors.

Zentia’s Sales and Marketing Director, Graham Taylor, said: “There’s no need for our customers to worry, their favourite ceiling solutions won’t disappear, and they can still rely on us to manufacture and deliver the same quality suspended ceilings we always have.”

www.zentia.com 0800 371849 marketing@zentia.com

CONSORT CLAUDGEN WIDENS LST HEATERS CONTROL OPTIONS

Consort Claudgen’s low surface temperature heaters range now includes heaters that are Wi-Fi enabled. They can be controlled from the Consort Connect app, which provides the same control features as the digital control panel on the heaters. Features include a seven-day timer with 24 heating periods per day, lock function, open window detection and custom automations. Users can also view the energy consumption statistics of all connected heaters. Additionally, LST heaters with Wi-Fi and occupancy sensors have a self-learning control ability that uses in-built occupancy sensors to detect and learn a user’s weekly presence in a room. It then creates a heating schedule and automatically warms the room according to the detected or predicted occupancy. When the room is unoccupied, the heater will conserve energy by switching to a setback temperature or frost protection mode. BIM objects are available for download from Consort’s website.

www.consortepl.com 01646 692172 sales@consortepl.com

M-AR’S CRYSTALCLEAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE AS IT CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY

In December, specialist offsite manufacturer and contractor, M-AR celebrated 15 successful years of business, as it continues to champion offsite solutions to the wider construction industry. M-AR, which still has its roots in Hull where it was set up in December 2007, describes itself as a “contractor with a factory” – an approach that enables it to offer a full turnkey service to clients from design to completion. From an initial team of three, it has grown rapidly and now employs 100 members of staff, with a team of subcontractors and an extensive supply-chain network all on-hand to support M-AR’s projects in the residential, commercial and education sectors at sites across the UK. Ryan Geldard, Director at M-AR, said: “Like any anniversary, this milestone gives us the perfect chance to pause and reflect as we reset ourselves for the future. We’re in the midst of our busiest period to date and this looks set to continue with demand growing steadily as we embark on our own ambitious five-year growth plan.”

www.m-ar.co.uk 01482 635081 buildingrelationships@m-ar.co.uk

GILBERTS HELPS PROTECT GOVERNMENT

GOLDEN GIVEAWAY FOR 50TH RAG ANNIVERSARY

F. Ball and Co. is celebrating the launch of the 50th issue of its industry-acclaimed Recommended Adhesives Guide (RAG) with a golden giveaway. Golden tickets have been hidden inside 50 copies of the 2023 edition of the guide, with the lucky recipients entitled to claim one of a range of prizes. Copies will automatically be sent to members of F. Ball’s Ball Rewards scheme and can also be requested for free. The RAG enables contractors and specifiers to quickly check the compatibility of F. Ball adhesives with over 6000 branded floorcoverings from over 200 leading international floorcovering manufacturers – offering flooring professionals the most comprehensive guide to floorcovering adhesive compatibility available.

www.f-ball.co.uk 01538 361633 mail@f-ball.co.uk

The Government is investing in a series of hubs to better deliver public services as part of its Levelling Up strategy, and drive to improve resilience, productivity and efficiency. One of the first to become operational is Fletton Quays in Peterborough, where 1000+ staff will be kept safe by advanced smoke evacuation technology from Gilberts Blackpool. The seven-storey office development Sand Martin House provides 8000m2 of flexible workspace to address emerging working practice. Energy efficiency has been a key design feature, to the extent that even the smoke evacuation system uses minimal energy to function. A 1.5m2 BRE natural ventilation smoke shaft rises the full height of the building, to provide effective ventilation of smoke in the event of a fire. The approach optimises natural buoyancy principles where the hot smoke rises and fresh air inlets drive the smoke upwards for extraction/exhaust. Gilberts’ innovative Series 60 smoke evacuations dampers have been chosen and installed by smoke ventilation specialist Orion Contract Services to channel smoke into the riser. With low air leakage when closed, a motorised actuator opens the dampers to drive the smoke into the shaft in the event of a fire.

www.gilbertsblackpool.com 01253 766911 info@gilbertsblackpool.com

COLOURS INSPIRED BY NATURE

Colour has a huge impact on how we feel, act and react. There are various psychological studies on how different colours evoke different moods, which can profoundly affect our happiness and productivity. Interestingly, the history of the first colour used in art dates back to 75,000 years, when red, from ochre, was used for caveman drawings – using colours inspired by nature.

Nature provides us with ever-changing beauty, the waves of the sea and the wildness of roaring rivers; these are all elements that Osmo UK has drawn upon for inspiration. With innovative design, Osmo UK has created a new product with nature in mind. Explore the colours inspired by nature, from the ocean floor to your home.

New Country Shades

Country Shades is a stunning new wood finish to join the Osmo UK exterior range, with 120 colours inspired by nature. Country Shades offers up to 26m² per litre with just one coat. The high-performance exterior wood finish doesn’t require sanding for future applications. A simple re-application is recommended when signs of wear become visible. Reduce your maintenance time and increase your wood’s longevity with Osmo UK’s quality wood finishes.

Inspired by the elements of nature

Country Shades’ new range of colours is inspired by the four elements of nature; air, earth, fire and water. Offering a collection of 120 bespoke colours, which have been carefully selected by Osmo UK’s experts. Each colour has been given a unique description that allows you to connect to the colours on a deeper level. Whether you’re looking for a bold, bright and strong colour or a subtle, calm and neutral colour, Osmo UK’s new range provides a shade for every colour preference. Give wood the colour it deserves with Osmo UK. Get in touch with Osmo UK by using the contacts below to pre-order your colour card.

www.osmouk.com

NEW CLEMENT STEEL WINDOWS SELECTED AS REPLACEMENT WINDOWS AT WEST COUNTRY SCHOOLS

Clement Windows Group has manufactured and installed new steel windows at two West Country schools. Trent Young’s CE School in Dorset and St Mary’s Calne in Wiltshire both required replica steel windows to replace the original fenestration.

Trent Young’s School, Grade II Listed and in a conservation area, was originally constructed by Reverend Turner and his wife in 1862 as the National School for girls and infants. The existing metal windows were not fit for purpose and, due to the school’s listing, it was imperative that the new replacement windows provided as close a match to the originals as possible.

The Clement Brooking range was specified because the slim, strong frames could replicate the wonderfulshaped heads of the existing windows and could be fixed directly to stone. The 16mm krypton-filled units offer much-improved thermal performance and it was possible to fit the frames with restrictors for safety.

St Mary’s School is a leading independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18, which was founded in 1873 by local Vicar Reverend John Duncan and moved to its current site in 1907. Around 40 new steel windows were needed in this phase of work to replace the original steel windows on the front and gable ends of the Plumer Wing, which comprises classrooms for music, computing, religious education and art. Clement EB20 windows were chosen, painted RAL 7016 (Anthracite Grey) instead of white, like the original windows.

Clement Windows Group manufactures an innovative range of steel windows, doors, screens and conservation rooflights for both private residences and commercial projects.

www.clementwindows.co.uk 01428 643393 info@clementwg.co.uk

AIRTECH OFFERS SOCIAL HOUSING LANDLORDS EXPERT ADVICE AND HELP TO TACKLE MOULD www.airtechsolutions.co.uk 01823 690292 info@airtechsolutions.co.uk

Condensation and mould specialist, Airtech Solutions, is offering expert advice and help to social housing providers following the Rt Hon Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, writing to council leaders and social housing providers regarding damp and mould. His letters highlight landlords’ responsibility to take action to protect residents from hazardous damp and mould following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak. Airtech is, therefore, offering advice to social housing landlords on how to help tackle condensation and mould, and fulfil the requirements of both the minister’s letters and the Homes Act. Contact Airtech Solutions below to see how the company can help landlords find the right ventilation solution.

CORKSOL APPOINTS NEW SURVEYOR TO DRIVE REGIONAL SALES www.corksoluk.com 01484 442420 info@corksoluk.com

Yorkshire-based sustainable coatings distributor, CorkSol, has recently welcomed Andy Charlton to the team as a surveyor, helping to drive sales for the SprayCork product across residential projects. Andy will be pushing forward the company’s growth across the region, meeting with customers to provide a free home survey and talk in more detail about the unrivalled benefits of SprayCork, before liaising with local approved applicators to deliver each job. Andy will combine his new role with running his company, AC Plastering, which has been trading for 20 years, as well as AC Eco Coatings, which was launched back in 2020 to bring sustainable render alternatives to the homeowner after he discovered the SprayCork product.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust continuously strive to provide better education for the next generation of medical professionals. As such, with help from NTW Solutions, it wanted to create a modern learning space for its medical education centre in Gosforth. Forbo Flooring Systems’ Flotex, Modul’up and Allura Flex ranges all played a key role in bringing this project together. It was important for NTW that the modern feel was kept in every aspect of the project. This was enhanced by Forbo’s expansive range of products.

www.forbo-flooring.co.uk 01773 744121 info.flooring.uk@forbo.com

Trent Young’s School