ROCKWOOL has been accredited with the British Board of Agrément (BBA) Agrément Certificate for its NyRock® Rainscreen 032 product. NyRock Rainscreen 032 is a stone wool insulation product specifically developed for use within ventilated cladding systems, as well as sealed systems such as curtain walling. Manufactured using patented technology, NyRock
The transformation of a former post office in Warrington town centre into a luxury aparthotel has been completed with an investment of approximately £2.5million. The contracting arm of Leeds-based Priestley Group, Priestley Construction, has delivered the project on Palmyra Square through its North West Office for clients Deuce Hotels. Beginning
The project team behind One City Park – a state-of-the-art new office in Bradford – gathered on site to celebrate the building reaching its highest point and on track to complete in Summer 2023. The event had a festive twist with an official light switch on for a 15ft Christmas
Story Homes has partnered with Anderton Concrete to utilise its unique Stepoc concrete shuttering technology to construct retaining walls as part of the development of 40 residential dwellings in Greystoke, West of Penrith. As the ground across the site was uneven in places, retaining walls of up to 1.8metres were
Anglian Water is set to upgrade Ashton’s Water Recycling Centre (WRC), near Northampton. The firm is to install new equipment which will remove phosphorous from wastewater, improving river water quality nearby. Work began on site at Ashton WRC this month and is expected to finish by March 2023. As the
Wates, one of the largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies in the UK, has started construction work on a new gigafactory in Sunderland, for Envision AESC. The project the largest by single value in Wates’ 125-year history is AESC’s second Sunderland battery plant. It will have capacity of
Morgan Sindall has started construction work on a new, highly specialist radiotherapy centre at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH). Guests from the project’s key stakeholders, including MKUH, Oxford University Hospitals, Morgan Sindall Construction and Milton Keynes Council, visited the site of the new radiotherapy centre. During the event, attendees heard
Central Bedfordshire Council has announced that Milestone Infrastructure has been awarded its highways maintenance services under a term service contract starting from 1 April 2023. The council’s partnership with Milestone Infrastructure will involve maintaining and improving roads, pavements, rights of way, drainage, bridges and other structures. In addition, the project
ROCKWOOL has been accredited with the British Board of Agrément (BBA) Agrément Certificate for its NyRock® Rainscreen 032 product. NyRock Rainscreen 032 is a stone wool insulation product specifically developed for use within ventilated cladding systems, as well as sealed systems such as curtain walling. Manufactured using patented technology, NyRock Rainscreen 032 has a more efficient fibre structure that increases the density of air pockets trapped within each slab. This results in an improved thermal performance when compared to traditional stone wool products. “Launched just a few months ago, NyRock Rainscreen 032 has already been well received by the industry thanks to the improved thermal performance it provides,” comments Lisa Stephens, Product Manager for the Building Envelope at ROCKWOOL UK. “With the BBA approval, architects and designers have independent third-party confirmation of the advantages that NyRock Rainscreen 032 brings to their project.” “The BBA provides services that drives quality and safety throughout the construction space, enabling innovation, risk mitigation and assurance from design through to completed build, and beyond” says Emma Wiles, Sales and Marketing Director from the BBA. “It is great to see more sustainable products entering the market such as this Rockwool product.” BBA approved NyRock Rainscreen 032 has a low thermal conductivity of 0.032 W/mK. It has proven acoustic benefits and is water repellent, yet breathable. Being manufactured from stone wool, NyRock Rainscreen 032 is classed as non-combustible in Euroclass A1. Stone wool is dimensionally stable and has been proven to provide the same performance for more than 55 years after installation.[1] For more information go to www.rockwool.com Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The transformation of a former post office in Warrington town centre into a luxury aparthotel has been completed with an investment of approximately £2.5million. The contracting arm of Leeds-based Priestley Group, Priestley Construction, has delivered the project on Palmyra Square through its North West Office for clients Deuce Hotels. Beginning in June 2021, the upper floors of the Grade II listed building have been transformed into 21 high-specification apartments for short-term rent. The new development has a luxury finish inside, including installation of high-tech entry systems which will enable hotel guests to enter the aparthotel using their smartphones. Whilst being modernised, the Warrington aparthotel has still retained many original features. The existing flooring has been built up to ensure acoustic separation. Like any project, there were issues to overcome. Bob Priestley, Head of Construction, explained “The after effects of the pandemic presented inevitable material delays that many have faced. Our delivery had to consider two existing tenants on the ground floor which were a bar and a restaurant. The team worked efficiently to overcome these hurdles and managed to complete the works in November. Providing a new hotel facility, this project will help encourage tourism in Warrington town centre by creating attractive places for people to stay. This will also bring more life to the town centre and therefore, a better environment for the community in Warrington. The Old Post Office Aparthotel is a seven-minute walk away from Warrington Bank Quay train station and is located within Palmyra Square where it benefits from the restaurants, venues and bars on offer, making it an ideal location to stay when visiting the town. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The project team behind One City Park – a state-of-the-art new office in Bradford – gathered on site to celebrate the building reaching its highest point and on track to complete in Summer 2023. The event had a festive twist with an official light switch on for a 15ft Christmas tree which now adorns the top of the steel frame to celebrate this major milestone. One City Park, which will create 56,403 sq ft of sustainable office space, is being brought forward by nationwide place maker, Muse, in partnership with Bradford Council. The building is being built by Caddick Construction, with the steel frame supplied and erected by Halifax-based Elland Steel. One City Park will combine high-quality specifications, flexible floor plates and strong sustainability credentials, offering businesses an opportunity to locate at the first new office space in city centre for 20 years. Simon Dew, development director at Muse, said: “The construction programme is being delivered at pace and to be on schedule is testament to the hard work everyone involved. At Muse, we create kinder and inclusive places in partnership that build brighter futures for everyone and our purpose remains the same here at One City Park. “Bradford is a diverse city full of potential and we want to attract the right businesses to One City Park and create a wealth of opportunities for the rich talent within the community. “We know that City Park is a popular place for gatherings and events throughout the holiday season and we wanted to play our part in the celebrations.” One City Park launched to market earlier this year, represented by commercial agents Knight Frank and Colliers. Once complete, the building will feature five floors of exceptional workspaces and a roof terrace, offering flexible floor plans that can adapt to accommodate more agile working practices that promote wellbeing. Designed to suit a range of businesses from home grown starts-up and SMEs, through to larger organisations and multi-nationals – there has been a high volume of enquiries from potential occupiers. Jason Sims, Caddick senior project manager said: “We are delighted with the progress at One City Park to date and it’s always gratifying to see the steelwork completing and topped out as a visible milestone for the city centre. It’s a real boost for the site team but we are also getting positive comments from passers-by who see the progress made day-by-day because it’s such a central and significant development for Bradford.” The building will be complemented by new public spaces around the site including stepped access and attractive seating areas. Surrounded by cultural assets including the Grade I Listed City Hall, St George’s Hall and new music venue, Bradford Live, which is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound transformation, as well as bars, restaurants and cafes – City Park is expected to play a major role in the city’s UK City of Culture celebrations in 2025. Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member of Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “One City Park is bringing hundreds of jobs to the city centre throughout its construction and once complete will bring hundreds more. It will be a great complement to the Darley Street Market which is also currently under construction.” One City Park will also feature a range of green design elements including high-performance glazing, photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps to make sure the building operates on renewable energy. Every car-parking space features an electric car charging point, coupled with secure cycle storage and changing facilities to encourage workers to take more sustainable and healthier modes of transport. For further information visit www.onecitypark.com. Commercial enquiries to Eamon Fox at Knight Frank (Eamon.fox@knightfrank.com / 0113 297 2433) and Roddy Morrison at Colliers (roddy.morrison@colliers.com / 0113 200 1810).
Story Homes has partnered with Anderton Concrete to utilise its unique Stepoc concrete shuttering technology to construct retaining walls as part of the development of 40 residential dwellings in Greystoke, West of Penrith. As the ground across the site was uneven in places, retaining walls of up to 1.8metres were required to ensure an optimal construction was achieved. However, once ground was broken, an unexpected incline of almost 2.5metres between three pairs of gardens was uncovered. This left the developers with a new challenge to ensure the difference in height was addressed by retaining the ground safely and quickly to minimise any potential disruption to the build and maximise on site efficiencies. Story Homes considered several retaining wall possibilities but specified Anderton Concrete’s Stepoc shuttering system because of its quick installation traits and ability to retain ground up to 4.0metres in height. “The initial design details for the scheme were based on a series of smaller garden retaining walls to create back to back terraced gardens, the details employed at this stage were in line with our internal standard suite of retaining wall designs. In order to bring improvements to these garden areas whilst balancing cost, buildability and space on site we decided to utilise the Anderton Concrete Stepoc system,” explains Scott Bradshaw, Engineering Manager, Cumbria and Scotland, Story Homes. “The slenderness of the Stepoc wall meant that with restricted space on the site, the overall amount of slope that had to be cut back could be reduced, saving precious time. This was the same with the overall speed of installation, which was swift and primarily enabled by the lack of steel fixing required in the stem.” Stepoc’s precast concrete block technology is unique in its versatility to facilitate the construction of retaining walls for multiple applications. Story Homes had previously specified the technology, but it was a first for the company’s Site Manager, Paul Woodruff, who was impressed with its wholesale benefits and adaptability. Stepoc’s ability to solve the problem of a considerable incline between gardens was achieved because of its flexible construction and ease of installation. As the wall can be laid dry, it saves valuable time, whilst the concrete pour cascades inside the wall, meaning minimal mess and maintenance. It can also be installed in various weather conditions, meaning no lengthy delays to overall construction times. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Anglian Water is set to upgrade Ashton’s Water Recycling Centre (WRC), near Northampton. The firm is to install new equipment which will remove phosphorous from wastewater, improving river water quality nearby. Work began on site at Ashton WRC this month and is expected to finish by March 2023. As the upgrades are taking place on site at the WRC, Anglian Water customers in the Ashton area should not experience any disruption during the scheme. Phosphorous is widely used in soaps and cleaning products but can be harmful to wildlife when it reaches rivers and other watercourses. The investment at Ashton WRC, which is worth £4 million, includes new equipment to strengthen the current water recycling process and remove even more phosphorous from wastewater. “We’re really pleased that these upgrades to Ashton’s Water Recycling Centre will help to protect nearby rivers and increase our resilience to climate change, by helping us make sure the wastewater is treated to an even higher standard than usual before it’s returned to the natural environment,” said Polly Garrod, Regional Treatment Manager. “We know how important rivers and the wider environment are to our customers and local communities. That’s why we’ve committed through our Get River Positive programme that our water recycling processes will not harm rivers.” Anglian Water’s team has used detailed modelling of the local system to design a robust engineering scheme which will help to protect local watercourses in Ashton now and in the future. This investment means the water entering the River Tove from Ashton WRC will be even cleaner, protecting wildlife and water quality in the river, as well as other downstream watercourses. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Wates, one of the largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies in the UK, has started construction work on a new gigafactory in Sunderland, for Envision AESC. The project the largest by single value in Wates’ 125-year history is AESC’s second Sunderland battery plant. It will have capacity of 12 GWh and will employ more than a 1,000 people when operational in 2025. It will be powered by 100% Net Zero Carbon energy, aligning with the company’s global commitment to sustainability. Moreover, the state-of-the-art facility will produce AESC’s latest generation batteries, with 30% more energy density to improve range and efficiency, and manufacture enough batteries to power 100,000 electric vehicles annually. The gigafactory Wates is building forms part of a wider £1bn partnership with Nissan and Sunderland City Council to create EV36Zero, an electric vehicle hub supporting next generation EV production and accelerating the transition to net zero carbon mobility. A traditional Japanese first pillar ceremony marked the first phase of work on Friday 9th December, with AESC CEO Shoichi Matsumoto tightening the bolt on the building’s ‘first pillar’ – a traditional Japanese custom on construction projects. The ceremony also marked a decade of EV battery production on Wearside with the first electric vehicle battery built back in 2012, to support production of the first-generation Nissan LEAF. “Envision AESC is the largest single project by value in our 125-year history. We are integrating years of expertise from across our business and supply partners to deliver this immensely complex scheme. This gigafactory represents the future of green, automotive manufacturing – not only in the North East, but nationally – and like all our projects, we’re committed to building it sustainably and for the long-term benefit of the region. It was an honour to celebrate this first phase with AESC and we look forward to our next milestone being completed,” said Sir James Wates CBE, Chairman of Wates Group. The company has doubled in size since production began and today employs more than 470 people in Sunderland. Globally AESC batteries are found in 800,000 electric vehicles operating with zero critical incidents. The footprint of the new building will be the equivalent of 23 football pitches and use 14000 km of mains cables. When complete the 360m long building will be longer than the nearby Northern Spire bridge across the River Wear. The latest integrated Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) smart technology will be deployed to monitor and optimise energy consumption, manufacturing and maintenance at the gigafactory. Construction of the new building on the IAMP business park – which spans land in South Tyneside and Sunderland will pave the way for potential future investment that could eventually see the site generate 35GWh capacity and 4,500 new high value green jobs. Wates Group, alongside its specialist engineering services arm, SES Engineering Services, is leading the design and delivery of the build, working alongside Turner & Townsend who will act as the project manager and cost manager. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Morgan Sindall has started construction work on a new, highly specialist radiotherapy centre at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH). Guests from the project’s key stakeholders, including MKUH, Oxford University Hospitals, Morgan Sindall Construction and Milton Keynes Council, visited the site of the new radiotherapy centre. During the event, attendees heard presentations from Sally Burnie, MKUH’s Head of Cancer Services and Carol Scott, Lead Therapeutic Radiographer & Deputy Clinical Director at Oxford University Hospitals, explaining how the new facility will improve the treatment that patients receive locally. Morgan Sindall’s Northern Home Counties business was selected by MKUH to oversee the construction of the multi-million project, which will adjoin with the hospital Cancer Centre which opened in 2020. The project was procured via the Pagabo national framework for major construction works and it is expected to be completed by spring 2024. The new facility will improve access to radiotherapy for patients who currently have to travel to other hospitals in the region to receive the specialist treatment. When complete, the radiotherapy centre will house two state-of-the-art medical linear accelerator (Linac) bunkers and will include a main reception, consultation rooms and a CT scanner area. The specialised nature of the project presented several unique construction challenges, for which the tier one contractor devised tailored solutions in line with its Intelligent Solutions approach to construction. This included the need to create 2.6m thick concrete walls to prevent radiation leakage from the onsite radiotherapy equipment. Due to the size of the walls and complexity of applying this quantity of concrete, a schedule of long pours has been designed so that the thickness will be achieved without compromising the quality of the concrete structure. To guarantee a smooth building process, Morgan Sindall has also accounted for several logistical factors. This has included extensive material delivery preparations to avoid undue inconvenience to the hospital’s patients and staff. Materials will be brought through the rear of the building, bypassing the front of the hospital where the new unit will be located, as this is an important access point for the adjoining cancer centre, its drop off-point, car park and nearby energy facilities. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Central Bedfordshire Council has announced that Milestone Infrastructure has been awarded its highways maintenance services under a term service contract starting from 1 April 2023. The council’s partnership with Milestone Infrastructure will involve maintaining and improving roads, pavements, rights of way, drainage, bridges and other structures. In addition, the project team will also provide design, traffic management, winter services, street lighting services and emergency response services such as handling flooding and removing fallen trees. “As our current highways maintenance contract comes to an end in March 2023, we took the opportunity to go back to the market to procure the best possible deal, one that offers exceptional value and, most importantly, a first-class service for our residents. We engaged with over 30 companies and there was strong interest from potential bidders who wanted to work with us and shared our ambition,” said Cllr Ian Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services. “We were impressed with Milestone Infrastructure as they provided a strong and good value tender, and we look forward to working with them from April 2023. We are confident this new relationship will enable us to deliver more schemes on the network. The partnership is an opportunity to work collaboratively to provide quality highways maintenance work for the benefit of our residents.” Following a thorough procurement exercise, the council has awarded Milestone Infrastructure a, up to, £250 million contract with an initial term of seven years plus the option of a further three years extension. Milestone Infrastructure will take over from Ringway Jacobs whose contract ends on 31 March 2023. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
