News, Products, Services


Grade II becomes Grade A with Neaco’s help


commercial space across five storeys including a roof extension which has created two additional floors. Although contemporary in style, the new interiors have been designed to complement the classic external facade of the original landmark property, regarded as one of the city’s most iconic buildings.


Neaco have supplied an extensive balustrade specification to help transform a Grade II listed former Post Office and Telephone Exchange into Grade A contemporary offices in Sheffield city centre.


Scott’s Developments took on the technically challenging project to breathe new life into the distinctive Art Deco-style building off West Street. SDA Architects designed the comprehensive internal revamp of the property, built in the 1920’s, to create Steel City House comprising 60,000 square feet of prime


OUTDOOR DECK CO


Neaco’s structural glass balustrade forms part of the £10m project’s signature feature: a new central atrium which brings natural light into the heart of the building, right down to ground floor level. The roof extension also includes an external terrace featuring Neaco’s structural glass balustrade, maximising panoramic views of the city below, whilst the company’s stainless steel balustrades has been installed in the new reception area, ground floor business cafe and stairwells.


City council sends in drones to ensure smart spend on tower block refurb


Specialist drones and abseilers have conducted an in-depth survey of a 24-storey residential tower block to ascertain its suitability for works to improve insulation and energy efficiency.


Southampton City Council identified Canberra Towers, a 1960s development of 144 flats, as requiring improvements to insulation but wanted to be sure the upgrade plan was workable and made the best use of budget. It turned to the British Board of Agrements subsidiary Consultancy Investigation Training (CIT) to inspect and assess the state of the building.


Tel: 0208 977 0820 WWW.OUTDOORDECK.CO.UK


Growth in ‘natural cladding’ gives Pura Facades a 34% boost in sales


Specialist supplier of natural cladding products, Pura Facades, has seen its business grow by a remarkable 34% in the last 12 months, increasing its turnover to £6 million. Operating from West London and Birmingham, the fast-growing supplier works closely with architects and designers, helping them to source sustainable, safe and stylish external claddings for commercial and residential projects.


Focusing mainly on the provision of glass fibre reinforced concrete (GRC), terracotta and brick slip facade cladding panels, Pura has recently supplied several flagship projects in London, including Hallsville Quarter, a mixed use development in Canning Town and St Mark’s Square, a major residential, retail and cinema complex in Bromley. Pura has also supplied bespoke cladding to high street outlets such as COS, Burberry and Stella McCartney.


The business attributes much of its success to the increasing appreciation of natural facades, typically using concrete,


PURA FACADES


terracotta or wood, which can be eventually recycled within the construction supply chain. Pura’s Director, James Butler, explains: “We founded the business four years ago to satisfy the growing demand for truly sustainable construction materials from architects and specifiers alike. The use of natural materials on new buildings has been growing over the last five years and this is a trend that looks set to feed into other areas such as social housing, especially as the bulk of our product range is certified as A1 non-combustible.”


Moreover, the company’s focus on customer service is another reason for Pura’s continued success. Butler continued: “Contractors are faced with increasingly tight delivery programmes during the construction phase and need suppliers that can help them overcome these logistical challenges. Accordingly, Pura offers contractors off-site fabrication services and timed deliveries, two methodologies that can reduce errors and improve construction site efficiencies.”


Tel: 0203 269 2052 WWW.PURAFACADES.CO.UK 54


Keith Meredith, Southampton City Council’s Programme Manager - Capital Projects (Refurbishment), explained: “We agreed for CIT to undertake independent property pre-inspections and provide relevant reports to fundamentally determine suitability for the planned works of external wall insulation, window replacement and roof replacement where applicable.


“It gave us peace of mind that our planned works would rectify the highlighted problems and, ultimately, be a wise way to spend


BBA CIT


budget, which is of utmost importance” added Mr Meredith.


CIT experts surveyed the accessible flats from the inside and used drones and abseilers to inspect the exterior of the tower block. This enabled inspections to be carried out without the need for scaffolding or cherry pickers; CIT estimated that scaffolding costs alone could have reached £300,000. The company also surveyed 35 council houses managed by the local authority.


CIT used drones to photograph Canberra Towers in detail with powerful cameras. Expert surveyors examined the photographs to identify any issues but nothing unexpected of importance was highlighted, giving the local authority reassurance that it had chosen the correct solution to solve the issues.


Tel: 02920100810 WWW.BBACIT.CO.UK


SigmaRoc plc pertnership with Tarmac, a CRH company


SigmaRoc plc, the buy-and- build construction materials group is pleased to announce it has entered into a licensing agreement with Tarmac Trading Limited (‘Tarmac’), for the manufacture, distribution and installation of its Shuttabloc™ system.


Shuttabloc™, developed by SigmaRoc subsidiary Poundfield Products Limited (‘Poundfield’), is a revolutionary precast retaining wall with internal reinforcing system and forms part of Poundfield’s offering of innovative offsite solutions. Protected by a series of patents, the Shuttabloc™ system has applications in the industrial, agricultural and infrastructure sectors.


The partnership entered into with Tarmac is an important next


step in the development of Poundfield products, marrying scale, capability and client base with an innovative product design. Tarmac will lead the commercialisation, production and installation of the Shuttabloc™ system with initial technical and advisory support from SigmaRoc, and its subsidiary Poundfield.


Max Vermoken, CEO, commented: “We are very excited to enter into this partnership with Tarmac, the UK’s leading construction materials business. They are by far the group best placed to ensure the success of a very innovative retaining wall system. Tarmac will bring the scale and onsite installation capacity required to take this innovative system to the next level”.


SIGMAROC Tel: 0207 002 1080


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