Britcon has secured a contract which will see them deliver two different projects that form a part of a wider transformation plan in the company’s home town of Scunthorpe. The Building and Civil Engineering company was first established in 1990 and since then has developed a reputation for being one
The former and future home of the Financial Times newspaper is being renovated to provide 270,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, complete with a walkable large-span glass roof designed and supplied by Wrightstyle, one of Europe’s leading advanced glazing systems companies. Bracken House is a Grade II Listed
As part of the ongoing regeneration of Slough town centre, Barnshaws Section Benders has provided curved steel to support The Curve, the new cultural and learning centre: a project delivered by Slough Urban Renewal on behalf of Slough Borough Council. The steel forms part of the building’s façade, which delivers
A home refurbishment project with a twist will soon be open to the public, demonstrating the solutions possible for dementia friendly construction work. The dementia friendly construction zone is being built on The BRE Innovation Park in Watford. The project is expected to be open to the public in October.
Taylor&Emmet LLP is expanding its commercial property team to strengthen the legal advice it provides to North Derbyshire’s rural businesses. Bryony Shaw joins the Sheffield-based solicitors to take on a mixed workload of commercial work at the firm’s Bakewell office. She will be assisting Taylor&Emmet’s commercial property partner in Bakewell,
Britcon has secured a contract which will see them deliver two different projects that form a part of a wider transformation plan in the company’s home town of Scunthorpe. The Building and Civil Engineering company was first established in 1990 and since then has developed a reputation for being one of the most successful and progressive companies in their industry located in the North of England. The contract for these two project was awarded by North Lincolnshire Council. The projects are a part of the Local Development Framework and a combined £60 million investment in order to completely transform the town. The first project as part of this local redevelopment work is currently being carried out. The £5.8 million project to create a new HQ for Ongo Homes has already been started, with Britcon already at work on the 21,500 sq ft three storey new building. Ongo is known in the area as the largest housing provider in North Lincolnshire. Their new HQ will be located in Church Square, with a stand out porcelain clad exterior and a backlit feature to be installed on the South and West external elevations of the building. For their part in this project, Britcon will be delivering an Air Source Heat Pump which will be installed on the roof, a Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery and a BMS system that will control the internal environment of the building, cutting running costs and CO2 emissions. The work on this project is planned to be completed by March 2018 The second project that has been awarded to Britcon is the £5.7 million extension to Church Square House. This building is the council HQ and where the council leaderships operate from. This extension work is expected to begin in the Autumn of this year, and is expected to be finished by at some point in 2018.
The former and future home of the Financial Times newspaper is being renovated to provide 270,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, complete with a walkable large-span glass roof designed and supplied by Wrightstyle, one of Europe’s leading advanced glazing systems companies. Bracken House is a Grade II Listed office building, originally built between 1955 and 1958, and lies adjacent to the St Paul’s Cathedral Conservation Area of the City of London, and was home to the Financial Times until the mid-1980s. The sensitive renovation will retain the building’s pink sandstone cladding, an allusion to the colour of the FT’s pages, as well as the astronomical clock over the main entrance, which features the face of Sir Winston Churchill, a personal friend of Bernard Bracken, a former chairman of the Financial Times. The structurally glazed roof light has been completed using Wrightstyle’s SR60140-2 and SR60140-4 profiles for the rafters and purlins, and the company also supplied two full-size test pieces before the main project design was signed off. The access-only roof glazing was comprehensively weather tested and underwent a TN67 test, in which weights are dropped onto the glass to ensure the safety of anyone walking on it. Wrightstyle supplied to Wilde Contracts Ltd, part of the Roger Wilde Group, specialists in glass flooring, who also carried out pre-contract testing. The roof light covers a main atrium area, to maximise light flow to the building’s central core, and replaces old 1970s concrete and glass pre-cast slabs. In a twist of history, it’s been announced that the Financial Times will move back to Bracken House next year after almost 30 years since relocating to Southwark. In 1987, Bracken House became the first post-war building in England to be given listed status. “Wrightstyle systems are renowned for their robust integrity, and have been specified on other roof light projects, both here and overseas – for example on a recent major banking headquarters in Hong Kong,” said Denis Wright, Wrightstyle’s chairman. “We were delighted to work with Roger Wilde on this project which once again underlines the specialist nature of the advanced glazing market, and how our systems are being specified internationally,” he said. Main contractor for the Bracken House project is the McLaren Group. Picture credit: Roger Wilde Group www.wrightstyle.co.uk
As part of the ongoing regeneration of Slough town centre, Barnshaws Section Benders has provided curved steel to support The Curve, the new cultural and learning centre: a project delivered by Slough Urban Renewal on behalf of Slough Borough Council. The steel forms part of the building’s façade, which delivers a truly modern aesthetic, intended to uplift the local area. As a result, the building has been awarded ‘Development of the Year 2017’ at the Thames Valley Property Awards. The new steel framed structure is 90m long and includes a floor space of 4,500m2, which houses a café, museum, library, offices, exhibition space and a 280 seat auditorium. Each elevation features cantilevers, or, a glazed curving façade, a characteristic which was enabled by Barnshaws Section Benders expertise. The Tividale based metal bending and fabrication expert was contacted to assist in the project due to a proven track record of providing similar solutions for landmark building projects, such as the Francis Crick Institute in London and the Oval cricket ground living wall. Precision curved steel is opening up new opportunities to architects and contractors, allowing new buildings to move on from the boxy structures that defined building design during the late 20th century. Businesses such as Barnshaws offer highly specialised machinery and an expert workforce to deliver CE marked curved steel sections to almost any radii, a service which defines the aesthetic of The Curve. These sections are now taking their place in new buildings all over the UK, offering residents facilities that raise the profile of the local area. Designed by CZWG and completed by Morgan Sindall and Caunton Engineering at a cost of £16.5 million during September 2016, the building now acts as a vibrant community hub, featuring sustainable technologies such as photovoltaic roof panels and a low energy ventilation system. Reception of the building has been overwhelmingly positive, with the industry now recognising the buildings ground breaking design. Greg North, Commercial Director at Barnshaws added: “At Barnshaws we gather great experience in delivering specialised curved sections for landmark building projects, utilising our capacity and unique service offering to meet complex architectural challenges and achieve deadlines. We also offer aluminium louvres as part of our façade expertise, so we are ready to service almost any structure with high quality fabrications.”
A home refurbishment project with a twist will soon be open to the public, demonstrating the solutions possible for dementia friendly construction work. The dementia friendly construction zone is being built on The BRE Innovation Park in Watford. The project is expected to be open to the public in October. A result of the partnership that has been formed between Loughborough University and BRE, the demonstration home will be 100 sq m and will feature a range of adaptations that would cater for a number of the different stages of the debilitating illness. The intention behind this project is to show the number of innovations that can be used to keep sufferers at home and independent for longer. Dementia is a broad term for a number of brain disorders that can lead to the loss of brain function. One of the more well-known of these disorders in Alzheimer’s. Dementia has a number of progressive symptoms such as impaired memory, learning and reasoning which in time become increasingly severe. The Alzheimer’s Society has carried out research which shows that there are around 850,000 people in the UK suffering with dementia. It is thought, especially as the population gets older on average, that this number will increase. Predictions show that the figure will increase to more than one million by 2025 and two million by 2051. The project that is under construction by BRE and Loughborough University is a part of BRE’s hopes and intentions to find solutions that will allow those suffering with dementia to live independently for as long as possible. The adaptation of the demonstration home at the Watford Industrial Park will cover a number of design for dementia principals that were established by Dr Rob McDonald and Bill Halsall at Liverpool John Moores University. The input of carers and nurses have also been combined with BRE’s design expertise in order to create this demonstration house. It is hoped that the work being put in by BRE and Loughborough will encourage more of the industry to look into the ways construction work can be tailored towards tackling the challenges of this debilitating disease.
Taylor&Emmet LLP is expanding its commercial property team to strengthen the legal advice it provides to North Derbyshire’s rural businesses. Bryony Shaw joins the Sheffield-based solicitors to take on a mixed workload of commercial work at the firm’s Bakewell office. She will be assisting Taylor&Emmet’s commercial property partner in Bakewell, George Thomson, on new and existing matters for a wide range of organisations based in and around the popular market town. Bryony worked previously at Sheffield firm, Ironmonger Curtis, where she provided corporate support for the sale and purchase of dental practices. She said: “Taking on a much wider commercial property remit is enabling me to broaden my knowledge base and technical skills. Taylor&Emmet is a large firm with professional support systems and I have been really impressed with what I’ve seen so far.” George Thomson added: “Bryony is a welcome addition to our team. Her enthusiasm, regional knowledge and excellent application of commercial property law will enhance the services we provide locally. Bakewell serves a varied client base and I have no doubt she will quickly cement her place within the town’s business community.” For more information about the range of rural business services offered by Taylor&Emmet’s Bakewell office, telephone (01629) 812613, visit www.tayloremmet.co.uk or follow the firm on Twitter, @tayloremmet.