PRODUCT SHOWCASE A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR INNER CITY SCHOOL a


n eQuitone architectural fibre cement façade from marley eternit has been used to clad a new £17.6


million, riba award-winning academy in inner-city birmingham. eQuitone [natura] and [textura] was specified by architects De riJKe marsH morGan for the new breeam ‘Very Good’ st albans academy, which has been awarded both a riba West midlands regional and a national award. eQuitone brings together the marley


eternit ranges [natura], [tectiva], [pictura] and [textura] to give these architectural materials an identity that is recognised as the material of choice to achieve appealing and inspiring buildings. Fibre cement [textura] was specified by the architects in vivid colours to emphasise the two axes within the school and the entrance area, which connect the two small ‘schools within a school’ to the sixth form and specialist teaching areas with [natura] used as a darker finish to contrast the bright colours of [textura]. Four colours were chosen by the


architects for the façade and fixed in vertical bands of varying widths, responding to the masonry of the adjacent Grade ii listed st albans the martyr church, to which the academy owes its founding and inclusive ethos. Paradoxically, the material also relates to the adjacent industrial warehouses as the project was intended to anticipate the future renegeneration of this deprived neighbourhood in central birmingham, demonstrating how a fibre cement façade can bridge the gap between contemporary and traditional architecture. the vision for st albans academy was to create two small schools within a school, each with their own headteacher, to accommodate 800 pupils aged 11-18. two small schools on one side of the building are linked with specialist learning spaces, on the other by a spacious, dramatic central atrium. the fibre cement façade panels are


rivet fixed to marley eternit’s Helping Hand framing system. marley eternit fibre cement


TARKETT ANNOUNCES PHTHALATE-FREE TECHNOLOGY


arkett – worldwide leader in innovative flooring and sports surface solutions - has announced its decision to use phthalate-free plasticizers in its vinyl flooring production in europe in 2014. as part of tarkett’s commitment to greater sustainability and eco-innovation, these new phthalate- free products* have been designed to improve indoor environment and air quality. the phthalate-free plasticizers selected by tarkett are approved for food contact containers and can be used for toys intended to be placed in the mouth by children. “our eco-innovation program and commitment to sustainability are built around providing our customers with the very best products. our aim is to offer more comfortable, healthy and people-friendly indoor spaces, without compromising performance and design experience,” explains anne-christine ayed, executive Vice President research, innovation & environment for tarkett Group. “the launch of this new generation of resilient flooring products sets another milestone on tarkett journey towards


t *Excluding Recycled Content Public sector sustainability • Volume 4 issue 1 29


environmental sustainability and will encourage the industry to follow in the coming years.” in the past


few years, tarkett pro-actively started deploying the new phthalate-free technology in its north american and swedish production sites. the Group will now progressively roll it out within all remaining production sites in europe in 2014 and around the rest of the world in the coming years. in 2009, the Group launched its first phthalate-free vinyl flooring range (iQ natural) made with renewable plasticizers. tarkett has also set the highest industry standards by eco-designing all its products to have low or extremely low Voc emissions, thus contributing to better indoor air quality. “this eco-innovation shows that


tarkett continues to be leading the resilient flooring industry, setting high market


architectural façades offer an installed life expectancy of at least 50 years and can achieve an a+ rating as defined in the bre Green Guide to specification based on generic rating for autoclaved fibre cement single sheet – (element ref: 80623042, 806230422, 806230447, 806230450). the clients on this project were lend


lease, birmingham local education Partnership and ark. the main contractor was lend lease and the specialist contractor responsible for installing the cladding was Horbury building systems. www.equitone.co.uk


standards to answer consumers’ increasing demand for products that combine health, environment, performance and aesthetics,” explains remco teulings, President emea Division of tarkett Group. tarkett innovative flooring solutions not only conform to all regulations worldwide but also go far beyond them. tarkett is committed to re-thinking its products, manufacturing processes and business models according to the ‘cradle to cradle’ and circular economy principles which stress the need for a positive contribution to people, the environment, as well as the economic development. For more information, please visit


www.tarkett.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32