9 minute read
INTERIOR DESIGN
Yorkshire Housebuilder Specifies Stelrad Radiators For All Its Developments
Radiators are the key sharer of heat around homes in the UK and many housebuilders are specifying designer radiators because they want their customers to benefit from a premium product as part of the new home’s specification. One of these is Erris Homes, based in Leeds. Erris Homes is a provider of modern and luxurious new family homes across Yorkshire.
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The company has chosen the Compact with Style design radiators from Stelrad – another Yorkshire-based company – with more than two and a half million radiators a year manufactured at its manufacturing plant in Mexborough, near Rotherham in South Yorkshire.
Purchasing radiators from a locally based manufacturer is definitely a plus for Erris Homes as it means it is not only supporting its local supply chain but also minimising its environmental impact due to the reduced distance of transport for the radiators from the National Distribution Centre alongside the Stelrad factory to the sites around Yorkshire.
The Compact with Style offers a clean, crisp, flat fronted radiator with a horizontal lined fascia. The subtle architectural look and feel of the Compact with Style is combined with value, range and availability to provide a sophisticated, designer styling for any room, commercial or domestic, at affordable prices. It’s available in 126 different models – horizontal, vertical, loline and coloured versions. www.stelrad.com
Working Towards Better Workspaces
Across Europe, co-working is continuing to buck the trend of traditional office decline, with an estimated growth of 158% over the next two years. With many companies not demanding a return to the office but conversely trying to remove people from working at home, co-working spaces have proved to be an excellent solution.
A good example is here at LUI House in Herford, Germany. Archwerk Architects have developed this four-storey building into a sustainable co-working hub which is fully self-sufficient using heat pumps and PV cells.
Complete with large break-out areas, hot desks and meetings rooms, the building exudes an aesthetic and inspiring ambience with high-quality furnishings and top-class media technology. With large open spaces and hard surfaces, the architects specified ultrafine bespoke Troldtekt wood wool acoustic panels in a natural grey. These were then perforated on-site with different sized holes to give an unusual three-dimensional effect. Not only do the high performance panels offer an interesting textural and visual appeal but they absorb the ambient noise created by talking as well as the echoes and reverberation caused by the hard surfaces and large glazed areas.
Founded on the Cradle-to-Cradle design concept, Troldtekt’s natural and inherently sustainable panels are available in a variety of different surfaces and colours and contribute positively to a building’s BREEAM, DGNB and LEED ratings. In addition to their high sound absorption and tactile surface, they offer high durability and low-cost lifecycle performance.
Available in various sizes and in four grades, from extreme fine to coarse, the panels can be left untreated or painted in virtually any RAL colour. www.troldtekt.co.uk
Imaginative And Integrated Interior Design, Vicaima Makes It Real!
Vicaima, as one of the leading European exponents of contemporary joinery solutions, including interiors doors, doorsets, wall panels and associated furniture products, have just introduced a new brand for professionals called Infinity.
Combining their extensive experience within this sector with the latest technological advancements in image realisation, they present a major step forward for the world of interior design, enabling creative vision to be made real, with imaginative design composition that encompasses multiple elements.
No longer constrained by conventional limitations, Infinity provides scope for interior design professionals to think beyond what they thought was possible, towards what they would ideally like to achieve. Whether creating a theme that brings rhythm and repetition, or a more dramatic and contrasting vision with pronounced statement pieces, Infinity can make it real. Infinity permits almost endless possibilities when it comes to visual aspect, with choice of colour, tone, pattern and even the perception of texture.
This enables interior designers and specifiers complete flexibility when aiming to deliver bespoke project solutions. However, for those professionals looking for insight from the Vicaima experts in trends and fashions, Infinity’s top three collections offer a myriad of fresh inspiration.
Select from either wood, stone or metal for an immersive experience which includes among many others, Spalted Maple, Terrazo Amber and Antique Patina. Once the design and hues have been chosen, it is then a matter of selecting which joinery elements can be combined to reflect the desired theme.
Here Infinity broadens horizons and uniquely permits creators to match and play with individual pieces in a way that has traditionally been limited. Blending integral building elements such as interior door assemblies and decorative wall panels, with more ephemeral components like wardrobes and furniture to achieve the perfect balance. While flexible aesthetic design is the hallmark of Infinity, it should not be forgotten that as a Vicaima brand, superior quality and performance are integral to all elements.
Exceeding industry recognised standards and in the case of doors and doorkits, third part fire accredited to both TRADA and the British Woodworking Federation, all products are environmentally produced and FSC certificated. Infinity marks a new era in design for interiors, whether in public, commercial or residential applications.
Expanding, evolving and elevating both the creative process and eventual project realisation by combining visionary image technology with industry leading joinery manufacture, to achieve outstanding results. www.vicaimainfinity.com
DRU Introduces Dynamic New Flame Effects For Its Virtuo Electric Fires
The DRU Virtuo is an innovative, realistic electric fire with a unique, projected 3D flame picture and a design and build quality that is the equal of its award-winning gas fires. It is available in front-facing, 2-sided and 3-sided models that are installed into false chimneybreasts or other architectural features around the home to create complete, contemporary fireplaces. The Virtuo is controlled by an exclusive DRU app that can change the height and density of the flames and regulate the energy consumption. In addition, DRU has now introduced four new flame patterns for even more variety and consumer enjoyment.
Gentle creates a lively and warm wood fire effect, Magic generates unusual, coloured flames for people that want something different, Graceful produces an intense and vibrant flame experience and Elegant is a quieter and more relaxing option.
All the new flame patterns are based on real-life log fires, underpinned by authentic glowing embers and accompanied by the sounds of real, crackling wood for a complete fireplace experience. The Virtuo electric fire delivers a cosy 2 KW heat output or it can be run as a purely decorative fire. There are no ribbons to twist or spindles to squeak and it is energy efficient with low running costs.
The Ceraglass interior intensifies the depth of the flame effects and installation is very easy, as it only requires a standard domestic power supply. The new flame updates are available immediately for existing Virtuo owners and can be demonstrated by all current DRU approved Virtuo dealers.
DRU is also inviting applications for new Virtuo electric fire dealers in selected post codes throughout the UK. www.drufire.com
Renowned surfaces company COMPAC have won the prestigious Red Dot Best of the Best Award for its ICE of Genesis collection created by innovative artist and designer Arik Levy. The Red Dot Awards are considered to be one of the leading design awards in the world and regularly attracts over 20,000 entries.
Judged by an international panel of 48 professionals from a range of design disciplines, the ICE of Genesis collection was voted the Best of the Best in the product design category for its ‘exceptional and innovative groundbreaking design’.
The ICE of Genesis collection features a range of unique quartz worksurface designs inspired by the great ice lakes of the Artic and coalesce technology with design and art to create stunning surfaces the like of which have never been seen before.
Levy has created four new designs to add to the collection that reflect how seasons change over the year. ICE Green represents nature coming alive in Spring, ICE Gold the sunbeams of summer, ICE Viola autumn lights and ICE Ink the dark nights of winter.
COMPAC’s commitment to produce safe, circular, and sustainable products is underpinned by a number of prestigious design and sustainability awards in addition to the Red Dot award the company has recently won.
For over 45 years COMPAC have been committed to the environment leading the way by using renewable energies in the manufacture of their worksurfaces, harvesting rainwater and recycling it for use throughout their factories, using organic resins and planting thousands of trees as part of an ongoing reforestation programme. www.compac.es
Sto Acoustic Ceiling System Brings Calm To Refurbished Museum
An acoustic ceiling system provided by Sto has created a quiet and calm environment for a museum in Hampshire. The StoSilent Distance system has been installed in Petersfield Museum, which has been created by the conversion and refurbishment of Victorian premises that previously housed a police station and court house.
“The StoSilent Distance system is wellsuited to this type of refurbishment project,” comments Sto’s acoustics project manager, James Gosling. “It delivers outstanding acoustic performance, but also offers tremendous flexibility as it can be used to create large seamless ceilings, sharp joints and creases, or curved ceilings and vaults. This gives architects and designers great freedom while still allowing them to accommodate the existing structures found on a refurbishment project such as this.”
The Sto system was specified for the building by Hampshire County Council Property Services, as part of a project to create a series of new, welcoming spaces at the museum.
The StoSilent Distance system can function as a suspended ceiling, or as a wall-covering over a cavity. It features a metal profile subconstruction fitted with acoustic panels, which are manufactured from expanded glass granulate, making them lightweight and easy to handle, and allowing them to be adjusted to suit any room shape and create a smooth, seamless surface. Different system variants are offered to suit different types of application.
The boards were finished with StoSilent Décor M, a spray-applied acoustic plaster which can be tinted to match an extensive range of shades from the StoColor system. This solvent and plasticiser-free plaster creates a classic fine-stipple finish which is ideally suited to a museum environment. It is also Natureplus approved and easy to refurbish.
The construction work formed part of the museum’s £3.75m ‘Pathways into the Past’ expansion and refurbishment project. This has seen the museum’s buildings and exhibition spaces undergo a complete transformation, along with the creation of an exciting new outdoor courtyard space. www.sto.co.uk
