PSBJ september 20

Public Sector Build Journal September 2020

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE LEISURE SECTOR? Mark Gowdridge and Paul Reed from GT3 Architects investigate

Healthcare

Education

Leisure

psbjmagazine.com

Issue 97

Is conventional care home design no longer fit for purpose?

Housing

Five benefits of GRP flat roofing for public sector projects

As schools reopen, we look at the importance of acoustics in the education sector

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WELCOME NOTE

Editor

Rebecca Kemp

rebecca@crossplatformmedia.co.uk

Print & Digital Advertising Sam Ball

sam@crossplatformmedia.co.uk

Jim Moore

jim@crossplatformmedia.co.uk

Print Design Manager

Mark Gowdridge and Paul Reed from GT3 Architects consider the future of the leisure sector.

See page 12.

Jack Witcomb

jack@crossplatformmedia.co.uk

Digital Design Manager Matt Morse

matt@crossplatformmedia.co.uk

Accounts

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rachel@crossplatformmedia.co.uk

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Klare Porter

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Publisher Sam Ball

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Barham Court, Teston, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 5BZ psbjmagazine.com 01622 232725 crossplatformmedia.co.uk

Welcome to the September issue of PSBJ...

The heatwave of last month saw many of us flock to the coast and venture further afield in search of sunny spots. For some, August’s soaring temperatures were too much, which saw many within public buildings precariously reaching for the air conditioning remotes.

However, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has advised that “the risk of air conditioning spreading coronavirus (COVID-19) in the workplace is extremely low – as long as there is an adequate supply of fresh air and ventilation1 – with ‘ventilation’ being the pivotal word. Never before has ventilation been more critical in buildings, and with colder, winter months swiftly approaching, we must incorporate adequate means of ventilation into our buildings to reduce the risk of infection.

This month, we have talked to EnviroVent about just how important proper ventilation is in today’s social housing. Here, Sales Director, John Moss, explores the airborne transmission of COVID-19 and explains how reducing recirculation and bringing in fresh outdoor air can be achieved through systems such as mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). Turn to page 16 to read the full article.

Elsewhere in this month’s issue, two contributors have explored the growing importance of inclusive design within our public sector buildings. Firstly, Eryl Jones, Managing Director at ASSA ABLOY Door Hardware Group, explores the special consideration that must be paid to enable those with disabilities or long-term illnesses to access offices, hospitals, gyms, shops and more. On page 28, Eryl looks at the confusion and non-compliance surrounding the guidance governing inclusive design and offers his top tips to ensure your door opening solutions comply with these guidelines.

Meanwhile, on page 12, we have talked to Mark Gowdridge and Paul Reed from GT3 Architects about another category of inclusivity within the public realm. Here, forecasting their views on the future of the leisure sector, the pair explores how we can engage with nonusers who are yet to become involved with a gym or leisure centre through inclusive design.

I hope you enjoy this issue. Don’t forget, you can also access all of 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.

PSBJ is a proud supporter of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists.

Contributions are invited and when not accepted will be returned only if accompanied by a fully stamped and return addressed envelope. No responsibility will be taken for drawings, photographs or literary contributions during transmission or in the editor's hands. In the absence of an agreement the copyright of all contributions, literary, photographics or artistic belongs to Cross Platform Media Ltd. The Publisher accepts no responsibility in respect of advertisements appearing in the magazine and the opinions expressed in editorial material or otherwise do not necessarily represent the view of the publisher. The Publisher does not accept any liability of any loss arising from the late appearance or non publication of any advertisement.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation.htm

1

Rebecca

Rebecca Kemp • Editor • rebecca@crossplatformmedia.co.uk Find us on Social Media:      @psbjmagazine

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CONTENTS

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

08 Upfront The new £45m Carnegie School of Sport (CSS) building has been unveiled by Leeds Beckett University in the heart of its Headingley Campus. Here, SES Engineering takes PSBJ on a tour of the building.

12 Leisure Traditional leisure centres and fitness clubs have often struggled to engage with those members of the public in need of a ‘soft’ entry into leisure – so what’s next? Mark Gowdridge and Paul Reed from GT3 Architects consider the future of the leisure sector.

08 18 Education

22 Talking Point

Danielle Swann, Associate at Birmingham-based Glancy Nicholls Architects (GNA), explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a raft of shortcomings within care homes in the UK.

Getting the acoustics right within a school building is vital for a productive and healthy learning environment. Here, Ben Hancock, Managing Director at Oscar Acoustics, highlights a few construction examples where the acoustics have been front of mind.

Jason Stapley, Managing Director at Pagabo, explains how the framework provider is helping the public sector bounce back from the pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

16 HVAC

20 Legal & Business

John Moss, Sales Director – Home at EnviroVent, looks at how good ventilation is more important than ever in today’s social housing.

Here, Lindsay Felstead and Vicky Kells, the Joint Heads of the Social Housing Sector at Clarke Willmott LLP, look at the most common FAQs received by the team in recent months.

With a seemingly endless number of benefits, including cost-effectiveness and ease-of-installation, flat roofing provider Stormking lists the top five benefits of GRP flat roofing for public sector projects.

14 Healthcare

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24 Technical Focus

CONTENTS

28

18

26 Security

In this article, Peter Jackson, MD at Jacksons Fencing, looks at how we can carefully balance safety and security within hospitals and healthcare facilities.

30 Infection Control

28 Disabled Access

32 RCI & Insulation

Eryl Jones, Managing Director at ASSA ABLOY Door Hardware Group, explores several ways you can ensure your door opening solutions comply with the guidelines covering inclusive design.

James Latham talks us through the building materials that have been used to create several temporary NHS Nightingale hospital wards.

Andy Pilkington, Director at DFR Roofing, outlines how to reap the eco-benefits of roofing the easy way, as well as how the public sector can lead the way for a cleaner, more efficient future.

20 34 Product Showcase

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NEWS

INDUSTRY UPDATES Each month PSBJ rounds up the latest public sector construction updates, from new contracts to industry awards.

Maybole – it’s happening Great news for the historic market town of Maybole in Ayrshire, as the Maybole regeneration project confirms it has secured £7.5m in funding.

The Maybole restoration project plans to invest up to £7.5m in the town centre and key restoration projects over the next four years.

Funding and advice are available for existing shop owners to improve shop fronts and for owners of designated residential properties to carry out repairs. Key historic buildings will also receive restoration funding aimed at restoring pride and vitality to the historic Carrick capital. Councillor Brian McGinley, Economy and Culture Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council, said: “Together with our partners, we are looking to transform Maybole and make the most of its unique assets.

We want to put Maybole back on the map, and this online resource is a significant step towards achieving this. The new website will be crammed full of information, from updates on the latest projects to advice and funding applications, so I would encourage people to visit the website and learn more.”

William Coates selects Asite for University of Brighton project William Coates has selected Asite to support its delivery of the installation of mechanical and electrical services at the University of Brighton’s new Business School.

The new six-floor building, consisting of 6400m2 of floor space, will be located at the university’s Moulsecoomb campus with the development also housing a 600-space multi-storey car park. The project is set to complete in this month and is part of the wider campus regeneration which seeks to create a world-class learning facility. William Coates will use Asite’s cloud-based Common Data Environment (CDE) in the development of the mechanical and electrical, heat and ventilation, plumbing, lighting and fire prevention facilities in the new building.

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Watford Council announces members £20m social housing of Place Shaping Panel development gets As part of its commitment to enhancing green light quality of life for all those living in the borough, Watford Borough Council has announced the members of its new Place Shaping Panel. The panel will provide a rigorous independent review process to major development proposals, and comprises individuals with skills and expertise ranging from planning and heritage to sustainability and inclusive design. It will play a key role in ensuring Watford’s townscape exemplifies thoughtful, high-quality design. Elected Mayor Peter Taylor said: “Watford Borough Council is thrilled to have such a talented panel in place to help navigate our increasing development challenges and provide independent insight. With the new Place Shaping Panel, Watford is better positioned to ensure we embrace innovation while protecting our historic character.”

Work starts on £17.4m leisure centre in Dudley Work is underway on a new leisure centre in Dudley. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has committed £17.4m to the project in the heart of the town centre.

Working in partnership with Alliance Leisure, through the UK Leisure Framework, the council will create a vibrant modern hub for residents and workers to enjoy a range of physical activities. “This is fantastic news for Dudley. Our residents deserve and need a top-class leisure centre, and I’m really pleased that work is progressing. We truly are regenerating Dudley, the demolition of Cavendish House is complete, and we have great ambitions for our borough. It’s our time to build, connect and grow,” said Councillor Patrick Harley, Leader of Dudley Council. “Once the hoardings go up, work will truly be underway, and we should see a new, state-of-the-art centre standing with pride in Dudley by the end of next year.” The new venue will be located in Flood Street, approximately one mile from the current centre and will occupy part of a councilowned car park.

Derry City and Strabane District Council has approved plans to build a new high-quality, residential-led, mixed-use development on the lands of the former Adria Factory on Beechmount Avenue in Strabane. Proposed

by Habinteg Housing Association, the £20m development will comprise 158 homes as well as community facilities, small business units, public open space and a children’s play park. The proposal, which was granted permission at the council’s virtual planning committee meeting in June, will bring the long-term vacant brownfield site at Beechmount Avenue back into use. The majority of homes within the scheme will be committed to social housing and seek to address the growing and unmet need for social housing in Strabane Town. Designed by RPP Architects, this new provision of homes will offer a mix of accommodation including general needs, CAT1 elderly as well as wheelchair accessible housing and complex needs accommodation.

30% feel public sector tech has not worked during lockdown Lockdown has meant a significant change in the way people are now using technology, with suggestions that these changes will have long-lasting effects. Since lockdown started, almost three in five people (57%) say they have become increasingly reliant on technology to keep them up to speed with breaking news, 54% for keeping in touch with family and 44% for paying for goods securely, according to new research by technology consultancy ThoughtWorks. Younger people were more likely to say they had experienced a change in their technology usage during the lockdown; however, older generations too said they benefited. However, the results also exposed aspects of the digital world that had not worked well during the period of isolation. 30% said they had experienced problems with the technology of public sector organisations during the lockdown, rising to 48% among those under 35.

NEWS

Planning application for a new quarry submitted

GT3 scoops regional RICS Social Impact Award A transformational £23m leisure development, designed for the London Borough of Croydon, has scooped a prestigious Social Impact Award at the regional RICS Awards. The new RICS Social Impact Awards, which were held digitally, recognise the built environment’s positive and transformational contribution to society.

The design won the leisure category in the London regional round and was commended by the judges for its ‘innovative design’.

The project team behind the award-winning New Addington leisure scheme, which is a flagship facility for the local council, includes GT3 Architects, Willmott Dixon, Engenuiti, Van Zyl & de Villiers and FT Leisure. The new facility features a six-lane, 25m swimming pool, a teaching pool, two studios, a fitness suite, four-court sports hall and substantial community space.

Trafford approves £11.4m regeneration project An estate regeneration project worth £11.4m has been approved at Trafford’s Planning Committee, held virtually. On behalf of Irwell Valley Homes, awardwinning consultancy Nexus Planning submitted detailed plans for 79 new affordable homes on underused land on the Sale West Estate, which will be delivered using Homes England funding.

A masterplan has been developed with the input of residents and stakeholders, with an extensive community consultation programme held from July to December 2019. The homes will be for social rent and made available to residents of Trafford in housing need.

A planning application has been submitted to Wakefield Council for a new sand and gravel quarry near Stanley Ferry, which will eventually be used as a recreational site for local residents. The application, submitted by Wakefield Sand and Gravel, is for a site that consists of two fields on either side of the River Calder, which would be joined by a conveyor bridge across the river. Sand and gravel would not leave the quarry on local roads, as a new wharf would be constructed on the Aire and Calder Navigation canal to transport the sand and gravel by barge to a concrete plant at the side of the River in Dewsbury. The sand and gravel from this site would provide a source of aggregate for the West Yorkshire construction industry which would otherwise have to be brought in from more distant sources as the only existing working sand and gravel quarry in the county is close to exhaustion. A quarry in this location would greatly reduce the overall carbon footprint of the local construction industry and reduce harmful emissions contributing to global warming.

Work starts on £20m White Oaks Leisure Centre Work has begun on the construction of a new leisure centre for Sevenoaks District Council, in accordance with COVID-19 safe working guidelines. The £20m project, delivered by Alliance Leisure Services, represents the council’s largest public project in more than 30 years and has been described as a “historic investment” by the leader of the council. Located in the heart of Swanley, Kent, the new White Oak Leisure Centre will replace the existing centre of the same name.

Built in the 1960s and extended in the 1970s, the current centre is coming to the end of its life and is both inefficient and expensive to operate. The new leisure centre, which was procured under UK Leisure Framework, owned by Denbighshire Council and managed by Denbighshire Leisure, aims to introduce new income streams, drive participation and capture a wider segment of user groups with a building fit for the future.

GRAHAM appointed to redevelopment at Eton College Eton College has appointed GRAHAM to carry out the design and build of phase one of its new indoor sports facilities. The college is embarking on a capital development programme to improve the provision of indoor sports facilities for its 1300 pupils. GRAHAM has been appointed one of the two projects within the programme, the Eton Sports and Aquatic Centre. On the site of an existing outdoor pool, GRAHAM will construct the new Eton Sports and Aquatic Centre (ESAC).

A three-storey building comprising a 25m indoor pool with diving facilities and a moveable floor, as well as a number of sports and spectator facilities including a four-court badminton hall, changing facilities, viewing and bar. The building will be primarily naturally ventilated with opening windows and vents. PV cells on the roof of the sports hall will also provide a renewable energy source. The mechanical and electrical plant will be located in the basement and on the roof deck.

£13bn frameworks to help public sector drive UK’s economic recovery Public sector procurement specialist, Scape Group, is to begin the search for contractors from across the construction industry after announcing the details of two innovative new frameworks valued at £13bn. Alongside a new £11bn Construction framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the group has launched a £2bn framework for Scotland to be operated and managed by Scape Procure Scotland. Following an extensive market consultation period, the latest enhancements to Scape’s construction framework suite have been designed to provide direct support to the local economy and the green recovery. The frameworks will empower public sector organisations to shape their project objectives, whilst offering a wider choice of delivery partners, contracts and performance measurement, without compromising the accelerated direct award model that Scape has pioneered.

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UPFRONT

FLAGSHIP SCHOOL OF SPORT READY FOR BUSINESS The new £45m Carnegie School of Sport (CSS) building has been unveiled by Leeds Beckett University in the heart of its Headingley Campus.

by architect firm D esigned Sheppard Robson, the 90,000ft2 landmark building is a significant addition to the university’s estate and further boosts its growing stature in helping shape the future of sport.

The state-of-the-art facility will also be the base for the Carnegie School of Sport’s undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes as well as providing a hub for elite athletes.

Key features of the building include an indoor 60m athletics track for performance training and analysis, dedicated research laboratories, and a health and wellbeing studio.

Teaching provision across the building, which can cater for more than 1600 students, incorporates five lecture theatres and around 40 laboratories.

The building will also house two world-class environmental chambers, which can mimic different altitudes and environments and are capable of

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achieving temperatures of between -30ºC to +50ºC, relative humidity of 15% to 95% and altitudes up to 8000 metres.

Constructed by main contractor, Galliford Try, which was appointed to the scheme in 2018, the Carnegie School of Sport forms part of a wider £200m programme of investment by the university across its campuses and will play a part in its ongoing positive contribution to Leeds city centre and beyond.

Peter Mackreth, Dean of the Carnegie School of Sport, said: “We are delighted with the finished building. Carnegie School of Sport is the UK’s biggest school of its type, and this outstanding facility will enable our staff and students to continue to shape the future of sport, changing lives for the better by helping to improve practice, policy and performance.

“Our applied research with our partner network, in performance, conditioning and coach development, anti-doping, nutrition and health and wellbeing is

changing policy and practice around the globe. And now, thanks to this fantastic new building, our staff and students have the facilities to match their achievements and ambitions.”

Ranked number 51 in the world’s top 100 universities according to QS World University Rankings earlier this year, the university’s sporting alumni includes wellknown sporting figures such as Leeds Rhinos’ legends Kevin Sinfield and Jamie JonesBuchanan, former GB Hockey Player, Sam Quek MBE, Paralympic Gold Medallist, Kadeena Cox MBE, England international and current UEFA ‘Women’s Player of the Year’, Lucy Bronze and Stuart Lancaster the former England Rugby Union Head Coach.

The decision to locate the indoor athletics track at roof level has created the building’s main feature and is what led to its striking form with cantilevered spaces to both front and back, along with a fullheight glazed atrium overlooking the outdoor running track.

Concave aluminium cladding adds further interest and texture to the building’s exterior giving an almost chameleon-like colour change effect as it reacts to changes in light.

With such a wide range of spaces incorporated within the building, the main contractor appointed SES Engineering Services (SES) to install a full range of MEP services, given its proven track record of delivering major higher education schemes across both complex refurbishments and state-of-the-art new builds.

Working to an existing design, SES manufactured corridor modules and plant room pump skids using its offsite capability, via Prism, its dedicated offsite manufacturing facility.

SES’ Managing Director, Steve Joyce, said: “We were delighted to have a further opportunity to work with Galliford Try on behalf of Leeds Beckett University to create such a dynamic teaching, research and performance space, as the Carnegie School of Sports. 

UPFRONT

Project partners: Architect: Sheppard Robson Main contractor: Galliford Try Structural design engineer: Curtins Mechanical and electrical design engineer: CAD21 MEP contractor: SES Engineering Services Project manager/client agent: Gardiner & Theobald Quantity surveyor: Sum Ltd

“Carnegie School of Sport is the UK’s biggest school of its type, and this outstanding facility will enable our staff and students to continue to shape the future of sport...”

– Peter Mackreth, Dean of the Carnegie School of Sport

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UPFRONT

UPFRONT “Designed to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’, we were able to apply our BIM Level 2 and associated asset tagging experience to best effect, along with our established offsite manufacturing capability to ensure the building achieved its target.

“Adding COBie data in the BIM model, coupled with a VRF leak detection system installed to easily identify faults, will aid future maintenance for the lifecycle of the building and ensure that it, like the elite athletes who study and train on site, will sustain optimum performance.”

Galliford Try’s Managing Director, North East and Yorkshire, Cliff Wheatley added: “We are proud to have delivered the Carnegie School of Sport project for the staff and students at Leeds Beckett University. The project team and all the stakeholders involved rose to the challenge, creating a truly world-class facility that will have a significant impact on teaching, research and performance for years to come.” 

www.ses-ltd.co.uk

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LEISURE

New Addington Leisure Centre

THE FUTURE OF LEISURE: WHAT’S NEXT? Attitudes towards fitness and leisure across the UK are changing. The COVID-19 pandemic saw people who had never owned a pair of trainers heading out for their daily walk and keen gym-goers searching for different ways to get their fitness fix.

Traditional leisure centres and fitness clubs have often struggled to engage with those members of the public in need of a ‘soft’ entry into leisure – so what’s next? Mark Gowdridge and Paul Reed from GT3 Architects, consider the future of the leisure sector. years, I nwerecent have seen the ways in which people think about fitness and leisure change and evolve. This has only been accelerated as a result of the COVID crisis, posing an interesting question for local authorities and operators as they look to engage with a wider range of users and encourage more people to remain active.

We have seen a real shift towards digital health and fitness tools, meaning that the leisure industry must evolve and innovate if it is to continue to attract users.

In the UK, prior to lockdown, it was estimated that around one million people fall into the ‘sleeper’ category when it comes to their fitness memberships – people who pay their monthly fee but generally do not attend the gym. It’s highly likely that these users will be lost moving forwards as facilities struggle to re-engage them, often after a period of frozen membership fees. But what about the rest of the UK population? Those non-users who haven’t yet become involved

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Spelthorpe Leisure Centre

with a gym or leisure centre, but have engaged with physical activity during the pandemic – how do we engage them?

This provides local authorities and operators with a unique opportunity to rethink their approach to fitness and leisure facilities; moving away from the traditional dry/wet mixes of the past and consider more what communities actually want from their leisure facilities, and in turn, ensuring business plans are viable.

Inclusive design The future of the leisure sector is not about returning to ‘normal’ that was often not entirely fit for purpose. It is about joining up and making designs more inclusive both in terms of the actual building and its context, understanding what people want and how facilities can be designed to encourage more people in, rather than simply serving those who have previously engaged with them.

A key part of this is understanding the barriers which prevent people from either becoming active entirely or from utilising leisure and fitness facilities. For us, these user stories are key to unlocking previously unengaged audiences. It may be that the fitness club is perceived as just a place for young Lycraclad fitness enthusiasts and anyone who doesn’t believe they ‘fit the mould’ could potentially feel intimidated, or that a leisure centre doesn’t offer a wide enough range of activities to suit people with differing needs, so it is really important to get under the skin of a community and understand what makes people tick.

Engaging diverse user groups Communities invest in leisure centres and fitness clubs, so it’s important to pay attention to the uniqueness of each one and understand exactly what the public locally want and need from the facility – and use good design to reflect those user needs and reposition leisure facilities.

LEISURE Spelthorpe Leisure Centre pool

The Bridge, Broadbridge Heath

At GT3, we have been working on a potential solution with our Community+ model. This model looks in-depth at a community, seeks to understand them and what they want and need from their leisure facilities and those barriers which prevent people from becoming engaged.

The model challenges traditional design, moving away from the usual formal sporting spaces and replaces them with more flexible zones. This approach allows the leisure sector to better cater to a much wider range of user groups by allowing for various different activities to take place in a particular space. By undertaking an in-depth study of the stakeholder groups that could potentially use leisure facilities, we are able to reflect those needs in the design. This is particularly important for local authorities as they seek to position leisure centres as successful businesses, as well as community facilities.

Take a fitness suite, for example; while many gyms already offer different types of exercise opportunities – such as functional fitness and CrossFit – all too often these take place in a single large space, which can intimidate potential users. By ‘scenesetting’, we are able to provide users with multiple choices of settings. By splitting down the larger spaces, both visually and acoustically, it can provide users with smaller and more manageable spaces without hugely affecting available exercise space for operators.

Another important consideration is how fitness spaces link into other activities. For example, libraries and life-long learning opportunities, which would increase the number and diversity of users engaged with a space as well as encouraging social opportunities; or by integrating leisure centres into park settings, you allow for a more varied leisure experience with a broader appeal, as well as encouraging people to explore underused green spaces.

At the heart of the community in Spelthorne We have been working on the design for the Spelthorne Leisure Centre in Staines, Surrey, which was informed by our own prebriefing tool, Performance+. This helped us to tease out the needs of the local community and aspirations for the client brief, ensuring that the centre was truly fit for purpose. We were able to include feedback and support from local people in our public consultation activity, illustrating a real understanding of the community and using that to develop the brief.

The centre, which will be built at the edge of a park, is packed with activity spaces including a 25m pool, teaching pool, splash pad and cafe. The sports hall accommodates six badminton courts, with two adjoining squash courts having flexible walls to provide two further badminton courts. There will be a fitness suite, multiuse spaces, soft play space and Clip-n-Climb

wall, the latter prominent at the front of the building. Even the roof is put to good use with four five-a-side pitches.

Spelthorne is a forward-thinking council, which has helped drive the team to review the leisure centre against Passivhaus principles – contributing towards its zero-carbon objectives.

This approach has not been widely adopted in the leisure sector and means altering some design conventions.

For example, the orientation of the swimming pool had to change. It is usually located on the north side of a building, so there is no glare on the water, but for Passivhaus, it needs to be on the south side to capture solar gain. Similarly, Passivhaus demands a shift from naturally ventilated areas to greater improvements in airtightness.

Progress is even banishing the evocative smell of chlorine.

The Spelthorne centre will have a micro-filtration system, which offers benefits in lower odour, energy costs and water consumption, as well as taking up far less space. Elsewhere, we have used moss filtration, based on a sphagnum moss which is popular in the USA. This is particularly important as there are so many people who simply don’t swim because of concerns about chemicals and water quality and the effects on their health such as skin allergies or asthma.

Added value Local authorities and operators face a number of challenges when it comes to delivering new leisure facilities, so it has become increasingly important for us to get under the skin of what our clients need and how that can translate into purposeful and effective design. Tools such as Performance+ and Community+ are critically important in allowing us to do that. Clients expect us to know about architecture, so it’s these tools that add real value for them.

As well as considering a new approach to how we conceptualise leisure centres and work with our clients on refining a brief, the way in which these projects are procured is changing too. Some 18 months ago, we would regularly see two or three leisure centres a month on OJEU via local authorities, but more and more they are moving towards frameworks as a more cost-effective and efficient way to procure projects for the public sector, which we would expect to see continue as we move out of the COVID-19 pandemic with construction at the fore of the recovery.

Maximising leisure sites In austere times, and perhaps even more so in light of COVID-19, it is increasingly important to maximise the economic potential of leisure sites and ensure that they meet the needs of the community. We will likely continue to see a greater emphasis placed on mixed-use developments, rather than standalone leisure centres and fitness facilities, maximising their revenue potential and ensuring they make business sense for operators. 

www.gt3architects.com

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HEALTHCARE

CONVENTIONAL CARE HOME DESIGN “NO LONGER FIT FOR PURPOSE” The Ada Bellfield Centre in Belper

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed fundamental flaws in conventional care home design, with many no longer fit for purpose and unable to meet the current needs of residents. At Glancy Nicholls Architects (GNA), we strongly believe that now is the time to call for changes to the minimum standards required in care home design; which would help to mitigate the effects on residents and their families for any future infectious diseases taking hold within the buildings, writes Danielle Swann, Associate at Birmingham-based Glancy Nicholls Architects (GNA). has happened in W hat care homes during this pandemic is a tragedy. We have seen brilliant, caring and determined individuals going above and beyond to meet the challenges of this crisis and the hard work of carers across the country should be recognised and celebrated. However, it cannot be ignored that these individuals have been working in an impossible situation and a crisis did; unfortunately, unfold within the care sector. A significant contributing factor being the fact that the conventional design of care homes, as well as the type of care needed by many residents, makes social distancing and selfisolation virtually impossible.

We are now calling on the industry to review the national minimum standards for care home regulations, helping to drive forward quality design. This has been a passion of ours at GNA longbefore the outbreak of COVID-19.

Our campaign to improve the design of social care buildings is not just about preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Innovative age-friendly design can help keep people socially and emotionally

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active for longer, reducing dependence on public services and bringing wider positive impacts across all generations. This could drastically improve people’s quality of life and dignity and ultimately help reduce the strain on the NHS. New minimum standards should include the provision of multiple smaller shared spaces throughout the building offering different rooms for different functions, a minimum width of 2.5m in all shared spaces (including corridors) and private bathroom facilities for all residents. Bright, light spaces with plenty of windows for ventilation should also be included.

Where possible, we should design care homes so that residents can be grouped into separate households of between eight and 10 people, with their own communal areas. Layouts should be carefully planned so that each household can be accessed by staff and visitors without having to walk through another household, thus decreasing the risk of spreading infection. To achieve this, the overall capacity of a care home will need to be reduced.

We strongly believe that there needs to be a renewed focus on

putting residents’ emotional and social wellbeing at the forefront of design. Take Holland; for example, where best practice care homes incorporate more outdoor ‘pods’ and social spaces for residents; providing private and secure areas for people to meet friends and family. There is overwhelming evidence that access to quality, external space has a positive impact on physical and mental health, so an emphasis on providing quality outdoor space will be key to improving the quality of care home design in the UK. COVID-19 has meant that even the most sociable residents have had to self-isolate. Facing every day alone, apart from the occasional appearance of a masked carer, must be terrifying for those living with dementia. It has been heartbreaking to see media coverage of families having to stand in gardens to communicate with residents through closed windows. For someone with dementia, this can be really confusing and upsetting.

If the current crisis has taught us anything, it is that we need to be ready for what may be yet to come. Just think how much better residents’ experiences of isolation

Danielle Swann is an Associate at Glancy Nicholls Architects (GNA)

could have been with separate outdoor spaces for families to meet; vastly reducing the risk of infection but vastly improving the wellbeing of so many people.

In future, care homes should provide safe ways for families to visit and spend time with their loved ones away from other residents; for example, private spaces in gardens that families can reach without having to go through the main building.

Features such as those mentioned have been part of our care home designs for numerous years. Our latest care home, the Ada Bellfield Centre in Belper, was handed over to Derbyshire County Council at the beginning of June and, due to its design, was temporarily used as an isolation unit for COVID-19 patients prior to residents moving in. Design principles for this building include separating households into 10 people, multiple smaller rooms with different functions including a lounge, dining room and reading room, private bathroom facilities for all residents and plenty of outdoor areas to promote exercise and socialising. Our aim has been to create bright and open spaces

HEALTHCARE Meadow View in Matlock

Meadow View in Matlock

The Ada Bellfield Centre in Belper

Meadow View in Matlock

throughout the building, with bi-fold doors leading out to terraced areas and large windows and skylights allowing light to flood through the space. Flexibility is also key, with the ability to change the use of the rooms as required. In the case of another pandemic, this flexibility, along with the smaller room sizes, would also allow the isolation of households without confining residents to one single room.

The main barrier to achieving anything like the standards that are required comes down to funding. The funding and delivery of social care have long been passed over, but that must change when this pandemic subsides. It’s great

news that the Government has announced further funding for the NHS, but it is worrying that appropriate funding for social care seems to be falling through the net again. Social care needs significant and sustained investment from central Government to bring it up to the standards needed.

With an ageing population and lessons learnt from the impact of COVID-19, it is imperative that we, as a society, protect and maintain the dignity and quality of life of our older generation.

We cannot simply ignore the care home crisis. 

www.glancynicholls.com

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HVAC

IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY FOR BETTER HEALTH John Moss, Sales Director – Home at EnviroVent, looks at how good ventilation is more important than ever in social housing. studies have shown R ecent that airborne transmission of COVID-19 presents a serious risk and could be a significant factor in the spread of the disease. Transmission can be either through large droplets or small airborne aerosol particles, which can be emitted when sneezing, coughing or talking.

Small droplets remain in the air for longer and can travel further than large droplets and could; therefore, cause greater risk. Another prime method of transmission is through surface contact via hand-to-hand or handto-surface, which is why good sanitation is essential.

Evidence from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDPC) states that poor ventilation in confined indoor spaces is associated with increased transmission of respiratory infections, such as COVID-19. Studies of 318 outbreaks in China

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demonstrated that transmission in all but one case had occurred in indoor spaces.

The length of time that people stay in an indoor setting appears to increase the transmission rate.

According to ECDPC, research into an outbreak in a call centre in South Korea found there was a COVID-19 incidence rate of 43.5% amongst 216 employees on the ninth floor, which indicated extensive transmission in a crowded indoor workplace.

Almost all those affected were seated on the same side of the ninth floor. Even though ninth-floor staff had interacted with colleagues on other floors, the infection had not been transmitted, which suggested that length of time in contact is a major factor in its spread.

In another case in China, 23 out of 67 passengers on a bus were infected by one passenger.

However, all passengers that were seated close to a window

remained healthy, apart from the passenger sitting next to the infected case. This and further evidence have suggested that transmission of COVID-19 is more likely to occur in closed indoor spaces with poor ventilation.

There is currently no evidence of human infection with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) caused by infectious air particles being distributed through the ventilation system ducts of HVACs. These systems are rated as very low risk; however, it is believed that COVID-19 aerosols (small droplets) can be spread through HVAC systems within a building or vehicle or standalone air conditioning units if air is recirculated.

It has been concluded that HVAC systems may play a complementary role in decreasing transmission of infection in indoor spaces by increasing the rate of air change,

which reduces the recirculation of air and increases the use of fresh outdoor air.

Building facilitators have long been advised that they should maintain heating and ventilation systems in homes and commercial premises in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions, particularly in relation to the cleaning and changing of filters. There is not believed to be any benefit or need for additional maintenance cycles in relation to COVID-19, beyond those already recommended.

Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, there was already compelling evidence presented by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Royal College of Physicians which demonstrated that respiratory problems among children may be exacerbated by indoor air pollution in homes, schools and nurseries.

Where ventilation systems are specified, the latest advice is that they should minimise recirculation and bring in fresh outdoor air instead. Increasing the number of air exchanges per hour will reduce the risk of transmission in closed spaces. Mechanical ventilation, such as through MVHR systems like the energisava range, brings in fresh, filtered air from outside and gently ventilates the indoor space, whilst extracting contaminated air outdoors.

MVHR offers a way of carefully controlling whole-house ventilation by supplying and extracting air continuously at a low rate, with no need for background ventilators. SAP favours MVHR which is often installed in new, airtight and well-insulated housing schemes.

A popular way that local authorities often adopt to improve indoor air quality within existing homes is Positive Input Ventilation (PIV).

These whole-house systems, such as ATMOS, can be located in the loft of a house or the wall of a flat. They supply fresh, filtered air into the hallway to ventilate the whole property.

This method delivers air into the home which dilutes, displaces and replaces high humidity levels, which not only controls condensation but also improves indoor air quality. PIV is most commonly fitted into renovated and retrofitted properties, and compliance with installation is essential.

HVAC

Latest advice

Research into reduction of risk Research into COVID-19 and the role ventilation plays in reducing its spread is still in its early stages. Significantly, though, ventilation has been found to play a key role in the dilution of particles which could minimise the risk of transmission or could prevent the transfer of an infectious dose to susceptible individuals.

More work is being done to establish technical specifications and standards for mechanical ventilation systems in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread, and further scientific studies are currently underway. The technical specifications will need to be defined for categories of room or location type, ventilation, purpose, number of occupants and the user activity. In general, mechanical ventilation should be arranged to minimise the direction of sustained airflow for stationary persons and; therefore, prevent any risk of spread.

COVID-19 has highlighted the need for good ventilation in buildings – something that has already been recognised for decades by many in the social housing sector. Improving indoor air quality (IAQ) is required to reduce pollutants, such as those from smoking and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as to reduce condensation and mould growth. To add to this list is the potential of reducing the risks of infectious disease spread.

Many experts have noted that a badly ventilated building is an ill building and ‘sick building syndrome’ has been widely publicised in recent times. Poorly ventilated buildings are those which will inevitably lead to ill occupants and never has this been truer than today; therefore, ensuring homes are effectively ventilated is more important than ever. 

www.envirovent.com

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EDUCATION

BACK TO SCHOOL: THE IMPORTANCE OF ACOUSTICS

Notting Hill Prep School ©Hanson Architects and Davide Saibene photography

Education is a top priority and a ‘moral duty’ for the Government. Academy trusts and local authorities are already preparing to get all pupils physically back to school in September not only for knowledge acquisition but also to satisfy the socialisation needs of young people, says Ben Hancock, Managing Director at Oscar Acoustics. are intended to be S chools arenas of learning, debate and development, where young minds accrue the information and skills needed to equip them for the future. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has prompted a sea change within the planning of classrooms, sports halls, lecture theatres and corridors to ensure social distancing protocol is maintained. What’s certain is students will need to be educated in smaller groups with more space.

Yet, the acoustic conditions in these repurposed spaces and its effect on teaching and learning is an oft-overlooked issue, turning classrooms into sonic battlegrounds. A recent study by Jacksons Fencing found only 30% of specifiers have used acoustic solutions for school projects.

Noise pollution has a significant impact on health and learning. Several studies have shown that long exposure to consistent noise reverberation, associated with poor classroom

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The Enterprise Centre – University of East Anglia ©Architype and Morgan Sindall Construction

acoustics, negatively affect the teaching and learning processes.

One study found, on average, speech intelligibility in just the fourth row of a classroom is a mere 50%. If students can only hear half of what their teacher is saying, how are they expected to learn and retain information? The noise also has a negative impact on pupil behaviour, affecting

the ability to pay attention and increasing unruliness. With class sizes rising and social distancing measures in place, it’s likely this problem will only get worse.

While noise can be a difficult issue to address, the utter subjectivity of its nuisance quotient can lead to a host of physical health problems, meaning significant noise doesn’t

just disrupt lessons; it impacts personal wellbeing. As noise levels increase, so do teachers’ heart rates, which causes stress, leading to serious health issues, such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.

According to statistics from the Department for Education (DfE), teachers in England were taking 51,000 sick days a week pre-COVID-19, costing schools an estimated £75m a year. Stress is a large contributor to this. In the private sector, workers in noisy open offices take 70% more sick days than those that work from home, so it’s not inconceivable that public sector teachers are suffering the same fate.

Unfortunately, The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation of 35 decibels (dB(A)) in classrooms, for good teaching and learning conditions, is frequently exceeded. A study in Germany even found the average classroom noise level to be 65 dB(A).

EDUCATION Notting Hill Prep School ©Hanson Architects and Davide Saibene photography

Poor classroom design affects teachers throughout the country. Anik Hussain, a Teacher in Nottinghamshire, got in touch about this challenge.

“Every Monday, I teach lessons in a large room, with only hard surfaces and hard furniture. The echoes are a nightmare, and I can rarely get my voice heard.

I always leave school that day with a major headache”. This is a great example of how noise can ruin a lesson, without taking into account student behaviour, teacher ability or even outdoor sounds.

The damage caused by poor interior acoustics to a child’s education (and the school’s bottom line) urgently needs to be addressed. However, human cost should be reason enough, as the consequences to teacher health will have a serious impact on life expectancy. In 2011, the WHO reported noise contributed to 1.7 million years of life lost a year in Europe.

Noise pollution in schools is harmful, unnecessary and easily fixed. School spaces need to be improved through appropriate acoustic design, opening up a world of opportunity through better educational outcomes for students.

To ensure environmental noise pollution doesn’t impact student learning and staff health, headteachers, school governors and local authorities need to put noise pollution at the top of the agenda when consulting architects and specifiers. Acoustics should be considered from the start in any new build, while refurbishment of existing facilities also needs to be a top priority.

Many acoustic solutions are simple to install and cost-effective, and will make a massive difference

to children’s education. At a school we recently worked on in Central London, there was a room in which four classes were taught at the same time. With the hard surfaces, the reverberation time was extremely high, so you can imagine the cacophony of four sets of children and teachers all talking at once; teachers reported 90 dB(A) was not uncommon. We installed one of our decorative acoustic ceiling sprays in under two days, cutting reverb time comfortably below BB93

regulations for acoustic design of schools.

Ultimately, we must sound the alarm about classroom reverberation noise and encourage schools and local authorities to take the initiative to tackle it head-on. Change can only come about through fully understanding the breadth of problems associated with poor acoustics and hearing accessibility in learning environments. 

www.oscar-acoustics.co.uk

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LEGAL & BUSINESS

Vicky Kells has 21 years’ experience and specialises in secured lending and large-scale due diligence exercises (including stock transfers) within the affordable housing sector. She has extensive experience of working with housing associations, including large national RPs and Welsh RSLs, and lenders on all property security aspects of loan facilities, private placements and bond issues.

Lindsay Felstead has 18 years’ experience in social housing, providing representation on behalf of local, regional and national housing providers and local authorities in all aspects of housing management.

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SOCIAL HOUSING FAQS Clarke Willmott LLP has one of the largest national teams of specialist social housing solicitors in the UK, acting for over 100 registered providers as well as major frameworks including HALA, CHIC, SEC and ASW. Here, the Joint Heads of the sector, Lindsay Felstead and Vicky Kells, look at the most common FAQs received by the social housing sector team in recent months.

Housing management What is the current position with possession proceedings?

All possession proceedings except for trespass proceedings were stayed until 23rd August 2020. This means that no possession cases are being dealt with at this time.

Notices served up until 20th September 2020 must include a three-month notice period (with the exception of most Notices to Quit). This includes notices for Assured, Secure, Assured Shorthold and Rent Act tenancies.

How should anti-social behaviour be dealt with during this time?

Injunction proceedings for ASB are still being dealt with by courts both on a without notice and on notice basis. For urgent cases – cases that involve the use or threatened use of violence and/or significant risk of harm – consideration should be given to applying for a without notice injunction to obtain protection for communities.

How does ‘lockdown’ impact on mutual exchange?

There has been no change to the legislation on mutual exchange in that a landlord has 42 days to refuse consent.

For many landlords, it is not possible or practical to carry out property inspections at the moment. As such, tenants submitting a mutual exchange request could be written to explaining what the limitations currently are. They should also be reminded that a failure by a landlord to give consent does not amount to consent and that if they go ahead anyway they will be at risk of losing their home.

Construction What are the implications of the pandemic on construction contracts?

The pandemic and its effect on supplies will be treated as a force majeure event and/or the exercise of Government powers. Those events will most likely entitle the

contractor to an extension of time (and a shield to liquidated delay damages) but not to any extra money (loss and expense).

It is worth stressing the importance of not conflating a closure of the site and a suspension of work under the contract. Even if the site is closed, there may well be certain important activities which the contractor can progress.

In addition, the contractor will always have an overarching duty to mitigate any delays.

The key for registered providers dealing with this is to make sure they maintain a dialogue with their contractors and get all the information they and their consultants need; including understanding exactly what the contractor has done to mitigate any delays and to get the site open. Once the registered provider and its professional team have this information, they can understand what extension of time the contractor is due as a result of the pandemic.

LEGAL & BUSINESS

Banking and finance What can we do to safeguard existing borrowing arrangements during the pandemic?

Registered providers should consider existing financial covenants and, if possible, run revised modelling based on current conditions to see if breaches are likely in the forthcoming testing periods. The Government, Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority are strongly encouraging lenders to maintain and extend lending, support their customers and not let fundamentally sound businesses collapse. If a registered provider has concerns about its ability to meet its obligations, it should speak to its lender(s) as soon as possible.

What will funding in the social housing sector look like in a postcoronavirus world?

After initial volatility, lending markets have stabilised, and there is strong investor appetite in the bond and private placement arena – as well as amongst more traditional lending – with historically low borrowing costs. However, because there is still economic uncertainty, being able quickly to put in place property security for your funding is more important

than ever – this may involve working with your solicitor to undertake pre-charging reviews or perhaps charging properties to a security trustee on an unallocated basis.

Procurement What guidance is there for registered providers with urgent procurement needs?

The Cabinet Office issued a Procurement Policy Note (PPN 01/20) to provide guidance to contracting authorities on the options available to help them achieve urgent procurement needs under the Public Contract Regulations 2015, and the circumstances in which each option may be used.

The options are not exhaustive. There are other grounds in the Public Contracts Regulations, which may be applicable, for example, the light touch regime for certain health and social care related services.

Do registered providers need to maintain payments to suppliers during the coronavirus pandemic?

The Cabinet Office issued a Procurement Policy Note (PPN 02/20) which applied to all contracting authorities until 30th June 2020.

PPN 02/20 requires contracting authorities to determine which of their suppliers are at risk and to continue to pay those suppliers to ensure that normal contract delivery can resume once the pandemic is over. Payment to at-risk suppliers carries its own risks, and each contract should be looked at on its own merits.

We advise seeking legal advice to help you in the procurement and contractual analysis, as well as preparing a formal contract variation to make it clear that the changes relate only to the current coronavirus situation and are limited in time. 

www.clarkewillmott.com

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TALKING POINT

PAGABO REPORTS POSITIVE RESPONSE TO PPN 01/20 AMENDMENT Framework organisation Pagabo reacted quickly to the Government’s released Procurement Policy Notes (PPN 01/20) which provides contracting bodies options for emergency works directly related to helping in the recovery phase of COVID-19. Jason Stapley, Managing Director, says the organisation will do all it can to help the public sector bounce back from the current pressure. the Government W hen issued its ‘Procurement Policy Note 1/20: Responding to COVID-19’, Pagabo acted quickly.

As well as this crucial support from Government to activate vital emergency projects rapidly, Pagabo was the only framework provider to offer our framework agreements, free of all fees, where extreme urgency was required.

Government has recognised that the construction sector is central to the UK recovery – and; therefore, frameworks will be even more critical for a post-COVID world as public sector bodies look to activate ‘on ice’ projects quickly and effectively. But organisations are continuing to procure through frameworks – as well as through the PPN 01/20, which allows contracting authorities to adjust their procurement approach to meet urgent needs.

To protect public money and resources, authorities must demonstrate a robust business

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case, suitable governance and objective decision-making.

At a time where we are looking to add robust support to clients, we have had a number of requests which have come through. We are progressing with three projects currently which require essential work, directly related to COVID and were able to activate the PPN 01/20 – and our Pagabo rebate-free model.

Not only were we able to act promptly for the clients but have waived the framework fees, which helped both client and contractor in moving these emergency projects forward.

Despite the exceptional circumstances, our sector continues many of its usual activities. Construction projects and programmes continue to progress, albeit with restrictions and at a reduced pace. Future projects are being planned for when ‘normal’ life resumes, and emergency requirements are being created and facilitated at speed.

We strongly believe that the quickest and most efficient way to procure is using a framework agreement – particularly one with a designated Direct Award process. Our frameworks allow for direct award and provide clients with a ready-made, simple and compliant solution, accelerating access to works, goods and services providers.

But aside from the current COVID circumstances, clients need to work with framework organisations which are transparent about fees. Not all frameworks are, and there may be costs throughout a project which clients may not expect. Pagabo is proud of its transparency around fees, and we feel that as an industry, framework organisations have a responsibility to offer that clarity – and particularly post-COVID as we move into the recovery phase.

Framework providers must provide simple, affordable and accessible solutions, but they must go further. In the same

Jason Stapley has spent 24 years in the public sector domain and has been in procurement since 1997. He has been CIPS qualified since 2003. He was at North Yorkshire County Council from 1989 to 2013, including procurements roles, before moving to Pagabo in 2013.

ways that the public sector needs to consider the suitability of their consultant or contractor, the public sector must choose a framework provider carefully.

Public bodies should ask their framework providers a series of pertinent questions. They should start by asking if the framework provider has been procured itself correctly? Are they a credible organisation? Do they have the capacity to manage these types of frameworks? Are they compliant and financially stable?

They should also look at their framework KPIs and how these are monitored – including social value. They should ask about the organisation’s procurement

TALKING POINT team. After all, it’s this team who should have all the expertise and necessary qualifications – including MCIPS, MRICS, and project management.

Public bodies should ask about fee structures and how they are applied. It is also important to find out how the framework provider carried out an extensive engagement with the market to establish a genuine estimate of the whole framework value. In short, frameworks should be simple, transparent and affordable.

Frameworks operate in different ways, but it is important for framework providers like us to be open

and honest about fees. To be clear, there is no such thing as a rebate free framework, of course. But the way Pagabo charges on a ‘pay as you go’ basis offers clients clarity – and the ability to manage fees through the life cycle of the project. It’s important to look at the whole cost of procurement and the support being offered, not just look at a rebate fee in isolation.

Pagabo begins the charging process only after a project has started on site. There are no management costs or upfront rebates charged – even if a project falls over or there is a reduction in the construction value. Some

framework providers apply a charging structure with the contractor having to bear a large proportion of the rebate at the outset.

Frameworks need to act differently in a post-COVID world. There is a lot of emphasis on contractors and consultants acting responsibly, but as part of the journey, framework providers also need to work differently to help Government realise its objectives.

At Pagabo, we are listening to clients and understanding which projects our public sector clients are looking to procure and when. We are sharing that information with

our partners, where and when we can – to instil confidence and help them plan for the recovery phase and beyond.

As a backdrop to all of this, we are seeing a tremendous amount of client access agreements coming through, which is really encouraging.

Despite the current challenges, we can see clients signing up and procuring services from the design and early stages. There has been no real warning in the design side of things – which is both positive and hugely interesting in the current circumstances.

We can see clients progressing – and even accelerating – the design phase.

Clients want to be prepared and get their design discussions progressed, ready for when projects begin again. This early work is buoyant because clients are making use of the time to progress the design elements.

Our suppliers are also telling us that while productivity may be lower, it is giving them an opportunity to look at their long-term strategy. They say that a strong strategy will help them through this recovery phase. And they say they see great benefit to align with the opportunities being brought to the table through Pagabo.

Our suppliers say that Pagabo continues to be a fresh source of opportunities – and how we support and help our clients is a key part of what we do. 

www.pagabo.co.uk

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TECHNICAL FOCUS

TOP FIVE BENEFITS OF GRP FLAT ROOFING Whether it’s social housing, a school, or surgery roofing; projects vary in size and scope. Yet, isn’t the need to specify high-performance, cost-effective materials a commonality for all? Unlike flat roofs made from traditional materials, which typically have a 10-year lifespan and are prone to damage and subsequent water ingress, glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) provides a cold-applied, weathertight, highly-durable seal for all manner of roofing structures of up to 20 years with little maintenance. With a seemingly endless number of benefits, including cost-effectiveness and ease of installation, flat roofing provider Stormking lists the top five benefits of GRP flat roofing for public sector projects.

1. Ensures safety during installation Flat roofs have been a popular method of construction for many years, and are traditionally made using materials such as bitumen. However, many schools and council offices are now stipulating that they need to have flame-free installation when it comes to roofing in the form of coldapplied liquid solutions.

This move towards coldapplied systems has grown in demand as a result of unfortunate instances of fire.

When applied to a concrete or timber roof, bitumen has to be activated by a flame. This then causes it to melt, so it can be subsequently rolled out onto a structure. Although it has been a method which has been used for a long period of time – and always undertaken whilst a building is uninhabited – the risk with bitumen is still, nonetheless, significant.

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In a post-Grenfell industry, we should be seeking alternative materials which mitigate risk as much as possible. The Government has passed health and safety legislation to make public sector buildings have flame-free roofing solutions. Stormking has a fire-retardant GRP flat roof system which features as part of its StormDeck-GRP flat roof range. This system is a high-performance, built-up, cold-applied, liquid-applied flat roofing product comprising a GRP chopped strand mat, curing catalyst, polymer topcoat, as well as that all-important fire-retardant polyester resin.

With a cold works solution; therefore, the risk is completely reduced as no flame is needed. Furthermore, unlike hot works, a building doesn’t have to be uninhabited whilst installation is underway.

Cold-applied solutions such as GRP are not only easier to install, but they also reduce disruption to buildings where interruptions have to be kept to a minimum.

2. Always select the triedand-tested solutions When undertaking a public sector project, customers need to be given the total peace of mind that there is a consistent manufacturing process which makes use of the same, quality materials.

By being independently audited, it gives every purchaser the assurance that your product will do exactly what it says on the tin. The British Board of Agrément (BBA) offers a certification which helps manufacturers show their products comply with recognised industry standards, meet with NHBC warranties and have undergone thorough, independent third-party testing.

3. Choose products which last for longer GRP flat roofing really hits the mark on durability; this characteristic truly sets it apart from other run-of-themill flat roofing products.

Not only is this ‘fit-andforget’ system resilient to the elements, but its lifetime is also double the number of traditional products – and it doesn’t require the same level of maintenance.

From a safety perspective, cold-applied GRP flat roofing is a winner. Its brilliant waterproofing credential is achieved by impregnating a lightweight reinforcing tissue with a rolled-on resin that is finished with a coloured topcoat. Able to last for longer with as low cost as possible, GRP flat roofing systems enable public sector clients to take pride in a robust flat roof that will last whatever the weather for many years.

TECHNICAL FOCUS

FLAT ROOF WITH GUTTER 08

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FLAT ROOF WITH RAISED EDGE 07

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5. Adds personality to a roof

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GULLY CONCRETE DECK

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KEY: 01: Support battens 02: GRP tape 03: 'A' type trim 95 x 140 04: Gutter 05: Fascia board 06: Brickwork 07: StormDeck GRP topcoat

GRP flat roofs have also grown in prominence where natural daylight is a priority. In schools and hospitals where daylight is proven to improve health and wellbeing, GRP flat roofs have greater importance. When designing a roof, sometimes there are building restrictions which highlight that a roof must not block the daylight flowing into the adjoining property.

In these cases, flat roofs are preferable over alternativeshaped roofs, as they enable the flow of daylight and are quicker and more cost-effective than other options. A GRP flat roof also lends itself to be used with daylight roof lanterns, to add natural daylight to the inhabitants in the room below.

08: Fibre mat 09: Top decking – OSB 3 board 10: Insulation – foil top 11: Vapour barrier 12: Sub deck – OSB 3 board 13: Joists 14: Plasterboard 15: Blockwork

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16: Cavity insulation 17: 'B' type trim 95 x 140 18: Laminate 19: G275H external 20: Bandage 21: Woven glass tape 22: AT 195 Internal 23: Paving slab

GRP flat roofing solutions, such as the likes of those produced by Stormking, can be manufactured in a variety of RAL colours to reflect or enhance the appearance of an existing building.

With public sector buildings shades such as a muted grey, which are in keeping with the surroundings, prove to be quite popular. Green is also a desirable colour, as some planning restrictions stipulate a roof must complement its environment. A solution such as GRP enables this flexibility, offering clients more choice when selecting the perfect shade for their roof.

Providing high durability and a flame-free installation, GRP flat roofing systems manufactured by the likes of Stormking are a firm bet for public sector projects desiring a flat roof aesthetic. In a society and industry where safety shouldn’t be compromised by the pressures on costs, it is reassuring to know there are flat roofing solutions which can deliver both and ensure the best of both worlds. 

www.stormking.co.uk

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SECURITY

SAFEGUARDING OUR CRITICAL HEALTHCARE FACILITIES Healthcare facilities are meant to be places of reassurance and restful environments in which patients feel safe and secure. Although hospitals and other medical organisations are working around the clock to negate the ongoing impact of COVID-19, they are still targets for criminals. Unfortunately, even during the peak of the pandemic, there were reports of opportunistic thieves who ransacked NHS staff lockers, stole staff bicycles, and slashed ambulance tyres. These incidents highlight the need for reliable security measures to safeguard people and property, writes Peter Jackson, MD at Jacksons Fencing. hospitals to care F rom homes, dental surgeries to local GP practices, all of these places carry out constant, essential work and require a full range of specialist security features to help protect them. As they are porous environments with large numbers of people visiting daily, these facilities become easy targets. They are attractive to criminals as they are considered ‘soft targets’, filled with opportunities to reap expensive and highly desirable goods.

From prescription drugs to costly equipment, and in more recent times, cyber-attacks on data, almost everything can be sold on the black market.

Despite these concerns, healthcare facilities have to be welcoming to their patients, staff and visitors. Security is most effective when the design of the

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space is taken into consideration.

External physical security is as important as interior and digital approaches, which means fencing, storage enclosures, and access control such as gates are key in allowing effective 365-days-a-year operation.

Access control and parking Hospitals; in particular, are fastpaced environments; efficient, seamless access is crucial so that ambulances can bring patients inside quickly. Beyond this, wheelchair access, and access for those with restricted mobility also need to be considered, as disabled, elderly or very sick patients are likely to be frequent visitors. Thus, all gates and access points must be assessed, and access points must be able to be controlled centrally, or regularly monitored.

SECURITY Healthcare facilities often have a diverse range of vehicles requiring access, including ambulances, delivery lorries and staff, visitor and patient cars. While patients, visitors and staff need secure parking, emergency vehicles must be able to enter and exit the site at speed, without putting pedestrians at risk.

The building of entrances and car parks needs careful thought, with fencing, pedestrian walkways, and bollards put in place to keep people separate from vehicular traffic.

Installing rising arm barriers or bollards in the car parks will help to control access. These solutions will also protect critical entrances, including specialist units and emergency wards.

Automated gates can also offer an additional level of security and can be a useful tool to enable facilities to monitor and keep a record of vehicles. When designing pedestrian and vehicular access, gates should be DDA (Disability Discrimination Act)-compliant. Crucially, the design of fencing and gates must accommodate rapid evacuation.

A step beyond Multi-storey car parks provide a highly efficient way of parking cars, as they require less ground area than conventional parking solutions.

Commonly used alongside healthcare facilities, they provide low building costs per parking space and a greater level of flexibility,

which ensures faster parking and retrieval times.

These structures require specialist fencing to secure them effectively. Lister Hospital, Hertfordshire, is one of the projects we have worked on to secure the multi-storey car park site. Here, over 1000m of steel welded mesh panels were specified to create an ultrasecure barrier to stop members of the public from falling through open gaps in the car park’s steel structural framework.

Promoting wellness through aesthetics Creating a welcoming environment is important when specifying security options for hospitals. While razor and barbed wire are effective deterrents to potential trespassers, their aesthetic is harsh and intimidating and should be used sparingly.

Solutions that offer both visual appeal and high levels of security are vertical bar railings or welded mesh panels. Both create a secure boundary, and provide excellent visibility for surveillance while offering greater protection than other alternatives.

For areas requiring a ‘softer’ appearance, such as gardens and outdoor recreational areas, timber fencing is well suited. Timber has a natural, welcoming appearance and promotes a sense of wellbeing and privacy. As well as offering a pleasing aesthetic, it also provides

a high level of noise protection.

Timber acoustic fencing further reduces the effects of noise pollution, transforming these areas into oases of calm, ideal for recuperation and respite for patients and staff.

These gardens play an important part in healthcare settings. They provide quiet areas away from the bustling hospital to help patients’ recovery process. We recently worked on a spinal unit in Stoke Mandeville, where we installed fencing in the garden to create a safe boundary and offer patients and staff a peaceful environment.

The design team chose timber panels for the green space, offering an ideal balance of aesthetics and privacy. The elegant design helps to create a tranquil atmosphere, while the alternating fence pales also help to protect the privacy of the patients while outdoors.

Outdoor storage areas Healthcare facilities produce medical waste, of which a large proportion is hazardous. This is held on site in outdoor bin stores while awaiting collection. Hospitals have a responsibility to ensure these areas are secured using risk-appropriate fencing to avoid potentially dangerous materials getting into the wrong hands.

Risk assessments are key to ensuring appropriate solutions are installed. For facilities exposed

to nefarious activity, products accredited by standards including Secured by Design or the Loss Prevention Certification Board’s LPS 1175 are proven to reduce the likelihood of crime. It’s also best practice to locate storage areas in locations away from climbing aids such as lamp posts or trees. The fence should also be high enough to deter people from climbing these structures and a timber/ steel combination fence providing security, but also hiding the waste inside is a favoured aesthetic solution.

Healthcare facilities across the UK are vital infrastructures dedicated to promoting and maintaining health. This year, we have witnessed first hand the unbelievable, selfless work those in the NHS carry out on a daily basis to preserve life. This highlights exactly why time and money need to be invested on each site to ensure it is safe and secure for all.

There are countless options to choose from when it comes to specifying security for healthcare environments. Each site will be unique and; therefore, specifiers and facilities managers must partake in thorough assessments to confirm they’re selecting the most appropriate security structures to ensure sites are safeguarded effectively. 

www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk

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DISABLED ACCESS

HOW TO ENSURE YOUR DOOR OPENING SOLUTIONS ARE INCLUSIVE The need to ensure our public buildings are inclusive has never been more pressing. With a rapidly ageing population and millions of people now working with disabilities or long-term illnesses, a large and growing segment of the population requires special consideration to enable them to access offices, hospitals, gyms, shops and more. Add to this the fallout that builders risk when they fail to comply with the rules, and it is clear that inclusive design is an issue that public sector builders cannot afford to ignore, says Eryl Jones, Managing Director at ASSA ABLOY Door Hardware Group. evidence across the H owever, building industry suggests there is still much confusion and non-compliance surrounding the guidance governing inclusive design. This includes Approved Document M, the Equality Act 2010 and, crucially, BS 8300-1 and 8300-2:2018, which sets out how buildings should be designed, constructed and maintained to create an accessible and inclusive environment for all.

Here is an overview of the ways you can ensure your door opening solutions comply with the guidelines covering inclusive design.

1. Accessibility Approved Document M states that doors “should be accessible to all, particularly wheelchair users and people with limited physical dexterity”. Once open, all doors

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to accessible entrances should be wide enough to allow unrestricted passage for a variety of users, including wheelchair users, people carrying luggage, people with assistance dogs and parents with pushchairs and small children.

2. Opening and closing forces The weight of a door, and how heavy it is to open and close, is another key consideration. BS 83002:2018 acknowledges the challenge, stating: “If the force required for opening doors is greater than wheelchair users and people with limited strength can manage, they will be unable to continue their journeys independently. If the force of the closing device is too great or its speed too fast, there is a risk that people could be pushed off-balance”.

To enable independent access through a door, the opening force – when measured at the leading edge of the door – should be no greater than 30 N, when moving from the closed position to 30° open. Then, the opening force required from 30° to 60° should be no more than 22.5 N. In terms of the maximum closing force exerted by a controlled door closing device, this should be within 0° and 15° of final closure.

Products that do not offer this capability should be avoided.

The specified door closer should take into account resistance from edge seals, hinge friction, latch resistance and differential air pressure. It should also allow the door to open sufficiently to provide the effective clear width, which is the next consideration to discuss.

3. Effective clear widths The effective clear width through a doorway is the distance a door needs to be clear of any obstructions when opening, which includes any projecting door furniture that might be installed on the door leaf itself, such as a lever. These minimum effective clear widths for each type of door should; therefore, be followed.

4. Door fittings Door opening furniture should be easily reached and provide a secure grip to users. This is critically important to many disabled people, including some disabled children too. It should be possible to operate door furniture one-handed, without the need to grasp or twist.

DISABLED ACCESS For wheelchair users, a space alongside the leading edge of a door should be provided to enable them to reach and grip the door handle, and then open it without the user having to release their hold on the handle.

Nor should the wheelchair’s footrest collide with the return wall. As a result, Approved Document M states that there must be “an unobstructed space of at least 300mm on the pull side of the door, between the leading edge of the door and any return wall”. However, BS 8300-2:2018 does note that “increasing this space to 600mm will improve manoeuvrability, reduce the risk of wheelchairs colliding with the wall, and enable wheelchair users to pass through the door more easily”.

5. Visual considerations To assist those with impaired vision; doors, their furniture and frames must contrast visually with other door surfaces and their surroundings. A careful choice of colour and materials can help here.

In addition, for any door that is not self-closing, or is likely to be held open, the surface of the leading edge must contrast visually with the other door surfaces and its surroundings as well.

6. Fire safety Fire doors for corridors should be held open with an electromagnetic device, but self-close when activated by smoke detectors or a main fire alarm system. They should also close should power supply fail, or when activated by a handoperated switch. Meanwhile, fire doors for individual rooms should be fitted with swingfree devices that close when, again, activated by smoke detectors, a fire alarm system, or when power supply fails. BS EN 1154:1997 is a British and European standard that covers the specific requirements for controlled closing devices for swing doors.

Building developers should look at the issue of inclusive design not simply as a set of legal requirements to abide by, but as an opportunity.

While implementing a project that has a lengthy building sign-off process and costly legal disputes because of noncompliance will damage your reputation, getting it right will enhance it. Inclusive design is here to stay. The future will favour those who understand and embrace it the most effectively.

To read the new white paper – titled ‘Inclusive Design – Why Should You Care?’ – from ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland, visit the website below.



www.assaabloyopeningsolutions.co.uk/inclusivedesign

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INFECTION CONTROL

MEETING DEMAND IN A PANDEMIC When COVID-19 started its aggressive expansion throughout the world, one of the major fears was that healthcare providers would be overwhelmed.

preparation, the UK I nGovernment announced the NHS Nightingale programme.

Involving the creation of temporary hospital wards within large exhibition, conference and sporting venues, the programme required a significant effort from the whole construction sector.

Within nine days, the first temporary hospital opened – London’s ExCeL, with the capacity to treat 500 patients. By May, there were 10 temporary hospitals open throughout the UK, providing more than 4000 beds and with space to expand. It was a staggering achievement.

Material matters The whole construction supply chain was under pressure, especially on the materials side.

This is where James Latham came in. While traditionally known for its timber-based products, the firm has a much broader portfolio. Its Advanced Technical Panels (ATP) division, for example, includes a range of high-performance materials.

Steve Johnson specialises in health-related products at Lathams and works within the ATP team. He said: “Within two weeks, we’d distributed products to several NHS Nightingale hospitals. It was a huge team effort, with materials supplied from many of our product categories.

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“Fortunately, as a large distributor, we had significant levels of stock ready to go straight away. It meant that we were well-placed to help the industry to respond as quickly as it did, often shipping products on the same day that they were ordered.”

Hospitals supplied from top to bottom The products required by the NHS Nightingale hospitals were divided into two main categories: structural products such as doors, flooring and wall panels, and products for hygienic surfaces.

The latter, health-focused products were either antibacterial, which halt the growth of bacteria, or antimicrobial, which stop a broader range of viruses, organisms, protozoa, fungi and moulds, as well as bacteria.

One of these high-performing products was advanced thermoplastic KYDEX, a robust and inherently hygienic material that can be moulded to any shape. It contains Microban antimicrobial protection and can withstand tough cleaning products without any staining, fading or surface damage.

As a homogeneous product, i.e. the same all the way through, any damage to the top layer does not adversely affect its antimicrobial properties or visual impact, making it perfect for high traffic areas. Because of this, most hospital walls, doors and furniture are made of or coated in KYDEX. One of the major orders was from Leisure Technique, which manufactured Integrated Panel Systems (IPS) units for the temporary hospitals. These are self-contained handwash stations that come fully assembled and include taps, sinks, pipework and wall panels.

This makes them easier to move, install and clean. They are considered the most efficient approach for infection control and hygiene and are already used in hospitals.

INFECTION CONTROL Even surfaces without a specific medical use employed KYDEX. For example, patient bays at many of the hospitals needed an overbed table for storage and mealtimes.

Richard Hagan is Managing Director at manufacturer Crystal Doors. With lockdown approaching, he was working on plans to temporarily close the business when he got a lastminute call.

He said: “An enquiry came in for up to 8000 tables. Such a large order would need about five tonnes of material, so we quickly acted and bought every sheet of white KYDEX that we could find in the UK. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough.

“Usually, there would be a long lead time of up to six weeks for orders, but time was clearly of the essence. Lathams and Sekisui really helped us – we placed our order on the Friday, and it was on a plane by the following Monday.

“We worked 24/7 for six weeks, supplying over 6000 tables for temporary wards across the country. It was fantastic to see how the supply chain came together, working hard to make sure that we could all do our bit to help the NHS.”

Getting it brand ready This tough, resilient thermoplastic can be colour matched, and produced in a range of textures and

finishes including realistic metallic or wood grains. This makes it especially useful for organisations that like to create branded environments.

This was true of the NHS Nightingale hospitals; Lathams already supplied KYDEX for NHS applications prior to COVID-19, and had sheets of the standard NHS blue, green and red that make up the main brand palette.

This was important both in terms of distribution speed but also for the recognition factor for users. Hospital staff would be shipped in at short notice and anything creating familiarity would provide operational gains.

As well as utilising its existing stock, Lathams was able to leverage its relationships with manufacturers around the world to ensure that products could be shipped in as quickly as possible.

The team were arranging orders in bespoke quantities and size, which were then manufactured and made ready for transit within 48 hours, a significant reduction on normal lead times.

Temporary, but still with high standards Just because the NHS Nightingale hospitals were temporary, it did not change the requirement for highquality materials.

For example, temporary walkways were needed for the Dragon Heart Hospital in Cardiff, Wales. A converted Principality

Stadium, the flooring would need to protect the pitch and be able to withstand high levels of traffic.

Buffalo Board, a heavy-duty, anti-slip product, was selected.

Sealed with a hard-wearing acrylic resin, it has built-in water and chemical resistance and includes a slip-resistant mesh finish as standard.

And it was not just these temporary hospitals pushing demand for materials. Many existing hospitals had to significantly increase their capacity in their ICU facilities.

This also had a knock-on effect on material availability, with Lathams prioritising these alongside the Nightingale orders.

Beyond healthcare Commenting on the longer-term impact of coronavirus, Steve added: “The focus on hygienic materials is going to last for at least another year. At Lathams, we are busy supplying products to a range of other sectors as lockdown rules loosen, including retail, hotels, schools, offices and leisure operators.

“The priority is to supply products that can withstand the rigours of regular cleaning and help organisations to operate safely and securely. It is an investment worth making for the long term.” 

www.lathamtimber.co.uk

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RCI & INSULATION

SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF: REAPING THE ECO ROOFING BENEFITS THE EASY WAY Public health and wellbeing are now a major national focus, and with £1bn being set aside by the UK Government as part of a commitment into making homes and public sector buildings more energy-efficient, sustainability within the construction sector is set to play a crucial role in the country’s long-term economic recovery. With the spotlight firmly fixed on energy efficiency for the foreseeable future, there is now an opportunity for the public sector; from schools and healthcare providers to local authorities, to set the sustainable standard; starting by looking up.

W

ith a third of a structure’s energy lost through its roof, making small changes can reap big rewards, especially within a sector driven by long-term cost savings. However, with energy costs predicted to rise at an annual rate of 3%, even the smallest of measures to improve a roof’s efficiency will have an enormous impact on energy bills. From upgrading insulation and using trusted contractors, to harnessing the power of sunlight, Andy Pilkington, Director at DFR Roofing, outlines why now is the time to reap the eco-benefits of roofing the easy way, as well as how the public sector can lead the way for a cleaner, more efficient future.

Inside out The nation’s public sector roofs are often seen as an inconvenience, with a general ‘patch and repair’ approach leaving many in a detrimental state and in desperate need of a full replacement or refurbishment.

However, with maintenance budgets continuing to dwindle, only the most urgent of building concerns are likely to be placed at the top of the list. However, providing the opportunity to not only reduce long-term operating expenditures, but also make it pay back into an organisation, making small changes to a roof can result in big benefits.

While the likes of green roofs are often seen as an ‘ideal’ energy-efficient solution; helping to turn over-crowded urban cities into thriving green forests, while improving air quality and lowering build running costs, these are not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ option for every structure and currently are mostly restricted to those with buoyant budgets. Requiring additional structural support and a long-term maintenance plan, for a sector in which finances are already stretched to breaking point, making changes and upgrades to a roof’s basic build-up can make a positive difference to its performance and eco capabilities.

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Whether it’s a roofing refurbishment or replacement, each layer of a roof needs to work in conjunction to ensure it is performing to the highest thermal standards. Insulation plays a key part in this mix, and choosing the right warm roof solution is crucial in achieving desired energy savings; and undertaking a thermal upgrade is one of the easiest ways to improve the performance of an existing building.

For buildings with a flat roof, it is possible to leave the current waterproofing system in place, with the new insulation and vapour control layers bonded to the existing substrate; significantly reducing the costs associated with a full roof replacement.

However, before determining an approach, it is wise to undertake a roofing survey to understand the makeup of the current roof; with the results informing how best to achieve the desired insulation thickness, while also taking into account roof build elements such as joins and upstands.

building approach. Maximising natural daylight without compromising on thermal performance or waterproofing qualities, studies have shown that access to sunlight can also have a positive effect on occupant mood and productivity. Reducing the reliance on artificial lighting, rooflights can also reduce CO2 emissions, while ventilation skylights help to improve internal air circulation and temperature control.

For those looking to really maximise their roof’s earning potential, a solar panel system should be a consideration; especially with installation costs having fallen in recent years, along with the provision of fully-funded packages.

Offsetting energy costs, requiring little maintenance and with diverse applications, the benefits are numerous, however, while often still slightly out of reach for the public sector, solar panels are likely to only become more accessible as building operation costs continue to rise.

Daylight saving

Assurance matters, and none more so than in the public sector; which is why it’s imperative to specify roofing products and materials which are proven to last. By working with a reputable single manufacturer, who can guarantee their system’s longterm performance, any unseen issues will fall into the manufacturer’s area of responsibility. While sometimes more cost-effective to use multiple

Every roof provides an opportunity to not only save money, but also make money, with the right approach helping to create an efficient building envelope; one which improves the internal environment for occupants. Beyond refurbishments or replacements, there are other ways to make a roof pay, one of which being the installation of roof lights as part of an integrated

Built to last

RCI & INSULATION suppliers, the drawback is there will likely be multiple points of contact, making it difficult to determine which guarantee comes into question.

The same approach needs to be applied to installation, with its design and planning requiring the utmost precision to ensure longevity and high performance.

An expert roofing contractor will work alongside trusted manufacturers and contractors to ensure a roofing system is installed correctly and functions with the rest of the building envelope. They will also be able to manage the removal and installation of solar systems to ensure the build-up of the roof isn’t compromised and all the ecobenefits are achieved.

With roofing technology and methods continuing to rapidly progress, roofs are often the key to a more efficient, economic and eco-friendly future for the public sector; with the right choice helping to reduce energy bills by up to 25%. With budgets only set to become tighter, looking to the roof can be one of the easiest and most efficient ways for the public sector to meet energy targets, setting the sustainable standards for others to follow. 

"With roofing technology and methods continuing to rapidly progress, roofs are often the key to a more efficient, economic and eco-friendly future for the public sector; with the right choice helping to reduce energy bills by up to 25%."

Andy Pilkington, Director at DFR Roofing

www.dfrroofing.co.uk

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SUSTAINABLE ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC ENHANCED WITH SELECTAGLAZE SECONDARY GLAZING Number 20 Bentinck Street, in the heart of Marylebone conservation area, was converted to a high-spec orthopaedic clinic.

The original time-worn windows were draughty and allowed high levels of noise ingress, neither of which are a good for patients recovering from treatment.

HOSPITAL BENEFITS FROM P C HENDERSON’S SIROCCO SYSTEM P C Henderson has been specified for a state-of-the-art hospital build in Breda, Holland. Covering 128,000m2, the new ultra-modern Amphia Hospital was officially opened in November 2019. The design brief focused on creating a new world of medical care – aiming for increased one-to-one patient contact, shorter waiting times, the highest level of healthcare and a peaceful and comfortable environment. A key solution in achieving this was through the specification of a sliding door system to separate the main room from the bathroom. P C Henderson’s Sirocco system was identified as the best solution for the project.

www.pchenderson.com

0191 377 0701

sales@pchenderson.com

DOORS & WINDOWS

Architect practice Frank Shaw came up with a design to make the building fit for purpose in its new role as a clinic, as well as achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’. Secondary glazing was specified on the front elevation, to enhance the acoustic performance and thermal retention of the primary glazing.

Series 41 side hung casements were specified, which have a flush glass-to-frame detail minimising the build-up of dust and dirt on the ledge; an important element for controlled environments such as recovery rooms and operating suites where infection control is paramount. All the casements were glazed with sealed units housing integral blinds, to maintain cleanliness and for patient privacy.

The double-glazed secondary glazing provided a number of benefits; warmer – the U-values have been greatly improved and draughts eliminated. Quieter – the sealed unit combined with a cavity of at least 100mm from the primary window, provided a significant noise reduction. Cleaner – with the flush frames and integral blinds housed in the glazing, germs and spread of infection will be kept at bay.

Working with Maquet, Selectaglaze installed 30 units, some of which were 2200mm (h) x 820mm (w). Liaising with the project manager, a tight fitting schedule was set, to meet the opening date.

Founded in 1966 and a Royal Warrant holder since 2004, Selectaglaze has a wealth of experience working on public sector buildings with each unit bespoke to the individual needs of the client.

www.selectaglaze.co.uk 01727 837271 enquiries@selectaglaze.co.uk

TOPOIL & SPRAY CLEANER All you need for kitchen worktops and furniture!

• Resistant to common liquid spillages e.g. water, juice, tea & wine • Saliva-resistant and sweatproof – food safe finish acc. EN 1186 • Microporous, breathable finish – doesn’t crack, peel or flake • No sanding necessary for spot repairs or future applications • Easy and low maintenance

Products can be purchased separately or as part of Osmo TopOil Surface Kit

www.osmouk.com

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DOORS & WINDOWS

SIDEY RETURNS TO MANUFACTURE FULLY ACCREDITED FIRE DOORS As Sidey, Scotland’s strongest fenestration company, is among the first UK companies to achieve the new fire door certification, Joint Managing Director, Steve Hardy, talks about the importance of accreditations. is one of the first S idey companies to achieve new accreditations as they launch a new range of FD30 Composite Fire Doors. Following independent factory product audits, our composite fire doors have been fully certified under the BM Trada scheme STD 170 and tested to BS EN1634-1 for fire resistance, both internally and externally.

The doorsets have been Q Mark third-party accredited for both fire and security manufacturing consistency and have also achieved EN 1634-3 for smoke resistance and PAS 24 enhanced security.

It was important that we were one of the first to achieve this certification. We understand the importance of accreditations, and we know that customers needed absolute assurance that they were

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choosing the right products.

Be safe, be secure, be Sidey – that is our philosophy here.

Fire doors have been a big part of our business as we work with many local authorities, housing associations, and newbuild developers.

Since the Grenfell tragedy more than three years ago, the supply and fit of fire doors has been a major issue, highlighting the dire consequences that can occur when products that have been designed for protection, fail to be fit for purpose.

The first phase of the public inquiry stated that failing fire doors contributed to Grenfell and noted that a 2016 inspection raised concerns about some doors not sealing smoke properly. In light of these findings, new regulations

were introduced to prevent a repeat of this awful event.

After Grenfell, it quickly became apparent that there would be a change in legislation as far as fire doors are concerned. It was vital that we had everything in place to ensure that we could successfully resume manufacturing fire doors.

That’s why we’ve invested time and money to ensure that our FD30 composite fire door range is fully accredited.

We always put safety and security first at Sidey. Every detail had to be absolutely impeccable so that customers can be totally assured of a product that can pass all the latest tests and keep residents safe.

Our FD30 composite fire door range is available with a fixed glazed top fanlight above the door

fitted with Sidey’s autolock. There is a full range of hardware available including BS EN 1634-1 eye viewers, security chains, knockers, TS008-compliant letterboxes, lowlevel thresholds and lever handles with thumb-turn options.

We have years of experience working with house-builders, architects and specifiers and have developed quality partnerships with leading players in the industry throughout the UK. It’s vital that products, and services, are fully accredited and certified. At Sidey, we are firmly dedicated to providing the very highest standards, and our long list of accreditations confirms this.

www.sidey.co.uk 01738 634803 info@sidey.co.uk

DOORS & WINDOWS

TIMBER FRAME: ACCOMMODATING THE DIFFERENTIAL With sales of timber homes and buildings heading towards £1bn in the next 12 months*, Andy Swift, Sales and Operations Manager, UK & ROI at ISO-Chemie, considers sealant tapes for timber frame structures and accommodating differential movement. figures from T hethelatest Structural Timber Association (STA) show that timber frames currently account for 22% of new housing starts in England, 17% in Northern Ireland and 30% in Wales, indicating that the technique can be seen as a viable alternative to traditional construction methods.

Indeed, as some industry experts predict offsite construction overtaking traditional onsite methods due to sustainability factors – with panellised and modular homes being made from recyclable materials and using up to 67% less energy in the building process than equivalent traditional onsite builds – the outlook for timber frame does indeed look rosy.

However, when it comes to effective weather sealing of fenestration and external facades, which might have to last upwards of 20 to 30 years, new-build timber frame structures can experience a huge amount of settlement occurring during the first 18 to 24 months of their life. Therefore, careful consideration must be given to this condition and factored in as part of the design at the critical product development stage.

Timber frame dwellings have unique requirements regarding differential movement between the internal timber wall and the external masonry wall. Basically, the internal timber wall will shrink in height due to a combination of loading and moisture loss, while the external wall grows in height as the bricks swell due to moisture gain. As the windows are generally fixed to the internal timber wall, this means that the windows also have a large amount of downward movement within the aperture of the masonry wall.

The UK Timber Frame Association’s ‘Differential Movement Calculator’ document, which has been used by NHBC for its technical standards for some years, and which lays down compliance requirements for house-builders for follow, suggests that even on a two-storey dwelling, the first-floor windows will move by upwards of 16mm while second-floor windows on a three-storey house can move by almost as much 30mm.

What does this mean for the fenestration industry? As a window manufacturer, the quality of the

window installation is paramount because any problems are usually laid at your door; while installers might see a poorly sealed unit tarnish their reputation with the house-builder or indeed, the occupants. It also means that using a silicone solution to provide a seal, which gives a MAF (movement accommodation factor) of between 15% to 50% to accommodate the timber frame movement, could be largely ineffective – unless extremely large gaps around the window are required to accommodate movement.

Alternatively, the use of advanced foam sealing tapes can be beneficial, adding value to the quality of the final finish. The current generation of tapes, such as ISO-Chemie’s ISO BLOCO T-Max, can accommodate up to 36 mm of movement (MAF = 257%) while remaining weatherproof to Storm Force 10.

When sealing the windows in timber frame houses, the gap at the head increases as settlement occurs while the gap at the cill decreases. Sealing the vertical sides also becomes problematical due to sheer movement. This can

be overcome using sealant tapes.

The window should initially be located higher in the aperture than the expected final position, which means that the head tape will be in a more compressed state while the cill tape will initially be in a more expanded state. This will equalise or reverse following the settlement movement, but will still remain intact and weather tight.

Horizontal gaps should also be installed first to prevent any problems forming post-settlement.

Tapes can be used to reduce vertical side gaps, too. They will adhere to the window frame only, allowing it to creep down the brickwork during the settlement period, accommodating the substantial sheer movement forces that can rip apart a silicone seal.

MTW Research report on the UK Timber

*

Frame House Building & Construction Market in 2020 with forecasts to 2024.

www.iso-chemie.eu/en-gb 07837 337220 a.swift@iso-chemie.co.uk

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FOCUS & INNOVATION

BE CPD ‘FIT’ FOR WHEN BRITAIN GETS BUILDING AGAIN As the country moves steadily towards recovery, it has never been more essential for HVAC professionals to ensure their skills and knowledge are up to date. For, those most in tune with the latest working practices and technologies are likely to be in the strongest position when the upturn comes.

Dave Dickson, Group H ere, Specification Manager for Conex Bänninger, discusses the benefits of Continual Professional Development, along with a reminder it can include remote ‘lunch and learns’ as well as attendance at technical webinars.

There are a number of positive reasons why HVAC professionals should take part in Continual Professional Development, or CPD as it is generally known. It helps individuals to sustain and progress in their careers. For companies, structured learning helps build an expert workforce with which to compete in the marketplace. And as an industry, it makes the sector more attractive for future talent and for investment.

While these are unsettling times, whether you are a heating and plumbing engineer, contractor or specifier now is a good time to consolidate those precious CPD

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points and hours rather than allow them to slip away. Arguably, the value of CPD has never been stronger. Because as Britain gets building again, it will be the best trained, most expert professionals, and the MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) firms who contract them, who will be most in demand.

There is a wealth of formalised HVAC-related education and training available, as promoted by organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Heating and Plumbing Engineering (CIPHE), the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), and RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects).

Conex Bänninger is listed in CIBSE’s Directory of CPD Course Providers, having achieved approval for our CPD seminar Press-fit Solutions and Materials for the Future. The presentation,

which compares the benefits of a press fitting system with that of the more traditional brazing technique, was reviewed and assessed by institute experts, who agreed it met their criteria for a high standard of technical content.

As a leading European manufacturer of plumbing fittings and accessories, we offer a range of education and training to plumbers and heating engineers, and to contractors. Currently, the majority of our education and training is online, which makes it easily accessible. This includes a new video on our YouTube channel that explains the correct installation technique that must be used for our >B< Press range of flame-free press fittings for water and gas applications.

Additionally, our e-learning course is available to airconditioning and refrigeration engineers who wish to find out

about our >B< MaxiPro press fittings that are designed for the higher pressures within ACR applications. Candidates who successfully complete the three modules qualify as a Conex Bänninger-approved ACR installer and can download an e-certificate as proof.

Studying either (>B< Press or >B< MaxiPro) will qualify the participant for CPD hours as they represent industryrelated research and upgrading of your skillset.

www.conexbanninger.com 0121 557 2831 salesuk@ibpgroup.com

BRAMFORD GARDENS CYCLE ROUTE Long Rake Spar customer Addagrip provided a new multi-purpose path for pocket park improvements near Wandsworth, using its resin-bound Terrabound. Addagrip-approved contractor O’Hara Bros dug up the existing cycle route and pedestrian path to create a wider shared route and installed 200m2 of BBA-approved Terrabound resin-bound surfacing in an attractive 10mm Trent blend. The aggregates used within this stunning blend were supplied by Long Rake Spar, which specialises in dried and screened decorative aggregates for resin surfacing. The new surface is porous, seamless and has revitalised the park with decorative yet low-maintenance paving.

NHS Property Services chose to replace the roof of the Hattersley Health Centre in Hyde, Greater Manchester, with a roof system that reduces the effects of pollution, by converting nitrous oxides that are present into benign nitrates. Working in collaboration with the BMI technical specification team, Urban Design & Consult (UDC) developed the remedy for the failing roof. The new roof was the Icopal Noxite Classic built-up felt system, in which the Noxite Capsheet reduces the effects of traffic pollution. Developed by BMI, Noxite torch-on roofing membrane turns harmful nitrous oxides produced by traffic into benign nitrates, a depolluting effect that lasts as long as the waterproofing membrane.

www.bmigroup.com/uk

01908 015760

FOCUS & INNOVATION

SEVEN ECO-FRIENDLY ROOFS IMPROVE HEALTH IN HATTERSLEY

marketingukandi@bmigroup.com

REVOLUTIONARY PRODUCT RECEIVES SAP RECOGNITION Sime, the Yorkshire-based boiler manufacturer, is pleased to announce that its Murelle Revolution 30 hybrid boiler is now recognised in SAP. This means that the product satisfies compliance with Part L of Building Regulations. Sime has been working closely with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) over the last two and a half years as part of the Hybrid Working Group to help define the methodology for SAP calculations for hybrid air source heat pump and boiler appliances. The Murelle Revolution is the first completely integrated boiler and heat pump in a single cased product and the first product of its kind to receive SAP recognition.

www.longrakespar.co.uk 01629 636210 sales@longrakespar.co.uk www.sime.co.uk

0345 901 1114

enquiries@sime.co.uk

FTSE 250 TECHFIRM CHOOSES ADVANCED FIRE PROTECTION FOR UK HEADQUARTERS WIENERBERGER AWARDED BSI KITEMARK FOR BIM OBJECTS Wienerberger, the leading supplier of wall, roof and paving products, has been awarded a Kitemark from the British Standards Institution (BSI) for its BIM (Building Information Modelling) objects as part of the company’s ongoing digital transformation. The BIM Objects Kitemark is the benchmark in best practice for the creation of digital products used in BIM models. To achieve this certification, a complete audit of Wienerberger’s BIM Objects by BSI took place to ensure that they are a true likeness of its physical products. Having received the Kitemark, Wienerberger’s customers can have complete confidence during the design, construction and asset management phases of a project that what they see onscreen will translate seamlessly into a physical product. The Kitemark accreditation comes as part of Wienerberger’s efforts to transition many of its tools and processes online as part of a broader ‘customer first’ digital transformation.

www.wienerberger.co.uk

A network of fault-tolerant MxPro 5 fire panels from Advanced, have been installed at the UK headquarters of Computacenter.

As a leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services, having robust fire protection measures in place at Computacenter’s UK logistics and distribution centre is crucial to ensuring smooth operations. As part of a fire system upgrade and move towards a more open-style protocol, Advanced was selected as the preferred solution at Hertfordshire-based Computacenter’s headquarters which, at over 220,000ft2, are some of Europe’s largest and most sophisticated purpose-built warehousing and operations facilities.

Advanced partner, Controlled, was responsible for the complete replacement of the fire system, including installation, configuration and commissioning of one eight-loop, one five-loop and two one-loop MxPro 5 panels that form the core of the site’s active fire protection. Controlled integrated the new Advanced control panels alongside several third-party systems in the warehouse and operations building, including auto conveyors, sprinklers, gas suppression, aspirator systems and fire doors and shutters.

www.advancedco.com 0345 894 7000 jmountain@advancedco.com

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FOCUS & INNOVATION

POTTERTON COMMERCIAL LAUNCHES NEW PREFABRICATED SIRIUS THREE WH RIG SYSTEMS

New-build properties often come equipped with a garden that is purely a blank canvas, perfectly suited for a homeowner to make their own. One such owner wanted to do just that, and after filling up the garden with brightly-coloured plants and flowers, they felt their shed looked unloved. Osmo Country Colour was the clear choice for the project, boasting contents that contain no harsh chemicals. Country Colour offers an opaque, satin wood finish for exterior wood. The range promises premium durability and a rich colour, hiding the natural colour and grain of the wood yet maintaining its natural texture. The solution not only rejuvenates the wood but leaves it protected against the unpredictable British weather. It is ideal for renewing previously stained, weathered or discoloured wood surfaces, giving wooden surfaces protection for many years. Country Colour can be applied to a range of species, including oily and exotic materials.

Potterton Commercial has introduced new prefabricated rig systems for its flagship Sirius three 90, 110, 130 and 150 stainless-steel, wall-hung condensing boilers to provide installers, contractors and end-users with a safe, rapid, quality solution to multi-boiler installation within four to five weeks of order. Potterton Commercial’s new turnkey heating solutions consist of pre-assembled Sirius three WH boiler cascades supplied on a modular boiler framework with insulated pipework set, pumps, a dosing pot, pressurisation unit, and customised controls and panel. There is additionally the option to integrate either a Low Loss Header or Plate Heat Exchanger into the rig, either left- or right-handed. Dan Martindale, Commercial Sales Director at Baxi Heating, commented: “Our Sirius three WH boilers have been designed to offer exceptional environmental and efficiency benefits with ultra-low NOx levels from 17mg/ kW, a modulation ratio of up to 9:1, advanced controls and above-average season efficiencies of 97.3%. Now, with our new Sirius three WH rig systems, we can offer the same benefits in a turnkey solution.”

www.osmouk.com

www.pottertoncommercial.co.uk

DON’T LET A SHED BE THE UGLY DUCKLING

01296 481220

info@osmouk.com

0345 070 1055

FILTERING THE OPTIONS TO REDUCE CONTAMINATION RISK

ALUMAFLEX FLEXIBLE MULTI-FOIL GAINS LABC RECOGNITION FOR MAGPLY As a slim and highly efficient thermal multi-foil insulation for use in roofs, walls and floors, Alumaflex is ideal for barn or loft conversions and, in general, timber frame construction.

The proven, high-performance product has UKAS accreditation and thanks to further investment by IPP (Magply), was also awarded LABC Certificate No EW 1045 in July. Alumaflex comprises four components in 14 layers which include aluminium foil bubble, aluminised foil, fibre wadding and polyethylene foam.

It was assessed by LABC for ‘Energy Economy and Heat Retention’ with the registration meaning Alumaflex is recognised by Building Control for use in England, Wales and Scotland.

www.magply.co.uk 01621 776252 john@magply.co.uk

There is an innovative way to make air as fresh as possible within educational buildings, and thus achieve compliance with Government guidelines. Gilberts, the UK’s leading independent air movement specialist, has developed a range of modular filter boxes to integrate with its innovative stand-alone hybrid natural ventilation unit, the Mistrale Fusion System (MFS). Added during initial installation or retrofitted to the MFS through-wall or through-window unit, the filter units help minimise ingress of unwanted and/or harmful airborne particulates into the internal space. Gilberts’ core MFS unit comprises a box fitted through the external facade with louvres that mixes internal and external air to ventilate the internal space.

www.gilbertsblackpool.com

01253 766911

info@gilbertsblackpool.com

STO BRICK SLIPS USED TO COMPLETE FACADE OF BIRMINGHAM TOYBOX BUILDING A combination of external wall insulation and brick slips from Sto were specified for a major new landmark building in Birmingham. The StoTherm Mineral K insulation system and StoBrick were chosen for the city’s new Toybox student accommodation building for their ability to combine outstanding thermal performance with a traditional brick appearance and blend with other construction materials. The StoTherm Mineral K insulation system uses mineral fibre boards which were adhesively fixed to the substrate. This allowed for fast and easy installation, and the accommodation of the curved surfaces found on the building’s facade.

www.sto.com

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FOCUS & INNOVATION

EARLY CONSULTATION ON FINAL FINISH ENSURES A STUNNING RESULT As one of the UK’s foremost architectural powder coaters, specialising in distinctive shades and textures, Powdertech Corby has created a stunning bespoke shade for external cladding on the Blackhorse Mills development in Walthamstow, North East London.

B

lackhorse Mills occupies the site of the former Ferry Lane industrial site next to Walthamstow’s High Maynard Reservoir and is an environmentally sensitive and vibrant residential location, one of the largest purpose-built rental developments in the UK. “We were involved with the architects very early in the project, which is fundamentally best practice, but still occurs only rarely,” said Richard Besant, Director at Powdertech.

“This meant that we could discuss the look and feel they had in mind for the buildings and ensure that the design of the extruded aluminium cladding panels together with the right

42

powder coating finish would achieve the desired effect.”

After producing a series of powder-coated aluminium samples from which the shade of one and the metallic sheen effect of another were the preferred options, Powdertech combined these attributes in a unique bespoke shade and named it ‘Ferry Red’.

External cladding of a ‘reeded’ design surrounds all four sides of the buildings and balconies.

Powdertech coated 12000m2 of the extruded aluminium profiles at a minimum of 60 microns thickness; the undulating nature of the profiles required close attention in order to ensure that all parts of the surface were

properly coated. The finish carries a 25-year guarantee for gloss, colour and adhesion and is Qualicoat Class 1 approved.

The ‘reeded’ cladding, in combination with the use of non-reflective materials, screening and a zero-car policy, allows the development to be sensitive to its wetland location in design and environmental impact. Visual impact is ensured by the play of light across the reddish/ metallic Ferry Red shade on the undulating surface, creating a stunning effect throughout the day.

If you have a colour or concept in mind, call the team at Powdertech (Corby), and they will be happy to share their expertise.

www.powdertechcorby.co.uk pcl@powdertech.co.uk +44 (0)1536 400890

Riserdeck® A modern high specification composite alternative to traditional galvanised steel and M&E service riser flooring.

Riserdeck® is easy to install.

Simply cast into fresh concrete, as the building is constructed, or retrofit at a later stage.”

BENEFITS: Exceptional strength-to-weight ratio.

Quick and easy to install.

Excellent load bearing capabilities.

Lightweight and easy to handle.

Bi-directional spanning.

Corrosion and weather resistant.

Non-conductive.

Multi-purpose.

Cost effective.

Fire resistant (BS 476.)

Anti-slip- surface

riserdeck@steponsafety.co.uk

01206 396446

Latest Schöck BBA Certification raises the bar.

Thermal break technology you can trust.

          

www.steponsafety.co.uk

No need to compromise on performance, quality or service. Schöck products meet full compliance with relevant UK building regulations, are approved by the BBA, LABC registered and classified as fire resistance class REI 120.

Schöck Ltd | Staniford House | 4 Wedgwood Road | Bicester | Oxfordshire | OX26 4UL | Tel: 0845 241 3390 | www.schoeck.co.uk

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