Leading London Accountancy Firm Adds Space Flexibility

Mazars is a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm. With the London team nearly doubling in size in the last 15 years, the company has recently relocated to new premises next to the Old Bailey. Aiming to support an integrated, hybrid way of working, partitioning experts Style worked with architects, HLW and contractor, BW, to create flexibility within the meeting rooms. Dorma Hüppe Variflex moveable walls intersect to form a T-shape, allowing up to three individual meetings rooms to be created.

With semi-automatic operation, the acoustic seals expand to exactly the required pressure to deliver an impressive acoustic performance of 55db Rw, allowing meetings to take place either side of the partition entirely undisturbed. Finished in a stretched Kvadrat fabric, the moveable walls blend seamlessly with the chic office interior décor.

The new Old Bailey offices will provide a vibrant, modern home for the rapidly growing London team of over 1,200 employees. In addition to state-of-the-art collaboration, innovation and audio-visual spaces, the new office encompasses an amphitheatre, study areas and a café. The meeting rooms have been named by employee polls, reflecting Mazars’ international and sustainability culture. “Office space in major cities comes at a premium and this is a great example of how you can get the most out of your meeting areas by adapting them for groups of different sizes,” said Michael Porter, Style’s group sales director.

“The semi-automatic Variflex is an exceptional moveable wall of the highest quality and is effortless to manoeuvre into position, which means the space can be easily changed several times a day if necessary.” This was the second time that Style had been chosen by Mazars, having previously installed a glass moveable wall at their offices in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham. www.style-partitions.co.uk

Triton Systems Shields Showroom Basement Conversion

The renovation and conversion of a former workshop and car storage facility, into a stylish basement space as part of a high-spec residential property, is making extensive use of fully compatible products from the range of Triton Systems. The work to remodel the one-time purpose-built motor garage and independent car dealership at Lytham St. Annes in Lancashire is being led by Elite Basements Ltd., whose highly experienced team of ground-workers, joiners and other tradespeople are reconfiguring the upper floors as well as transforming half the old undercroft into habitable space.

The Preston-based specialist is employing Triton’s anti-lime coating to treat the newly laid basement slab, followed by a layer of the manufacturer’s TM20 profiled membrane to remove water to the floor perimeter, where it is conducted to a sump using Aqua Channel. This PVC-U profile also takes run-off from the Triton Platon P8 lining the basement walls, with a pair of Triton’s 240 volt Aqua Pump Pro Plus units and 24v battery back-up, ready to remove the water to mains drainage. In addition to installing insulated dry-lining throughout the basement, Elite’s operatives have carried out structural repairs and applied red oxide paint with an airless sprayer to all of the original steel columns and beams after they were shotblasted by others. These beams and posts support the ground floor slab/ block and beam floor above. Triton Stretch Tape was stretched around the bottom end to form a waterproof and vapour proof barrier. www.tritonsystems.co.uk

Airtightness Simplified For Residential Development In Dublin New Town

Wraptite®, the only self-adhering vapour permeable air barrier certified by the BBA, is at the heart of an innovative mixed-use town centre development in south Dublin. The Cherrywood project is a Strategic Development Zone that will create a new town including over 7,700 new homes, six schools, three major parks, and retail and leisure facilities. Partition and ceiling specialist contractor Platt Reilly installed the Wraptite System as an external air barrier and alternative to a traditional standard breather membrane. The Wraptite self-adhesive membrane was applied externally, quickly and easily to the external steel frame in continuous pieces.

The self-adhered nature of Wraptite and its high level of water resistance and simplified detailing made it an ideal choice. Wraptite is designed as an effective vapour permeable air barrier to maximise the energy efficiency of buildings, combining the critical properties of vapour permeability and airtightness in one self-adhering membrane.

Wraptite is applied externally, quickly and efficiently as part of the cladding system. Traditional internal air barriers will need to accommodate building services such as electrical, lighting, heating and drainage systems, increasing the gap between as designed and built. However, installing the Wraptite membrane allows bonding to virtually any substrate and requires no mechanical attachment, seals or tapes to suppress air leakage around junctions or penetrations. www.proctorgroup.com