289 Homes, Commercial Space and ‘Sizeable’ Green Space to be Created Next to Famous Salt Mills World Heritage Site in Shipley. Construction of ‘Saltaire Riverside’ – a vibrant new residential neighbourhood composed of 289 sustainable homes, commercial space and a large riverside park on the edge of the Salts Mills
Wolseley Infrastructure prepares to unveil its Fusion Utilities brand new and highly anticipated Horizon 29 site in Chesterfield. With the final stage of fit-out underway, the countdown has officially begun for the opening of the new fulfilment centre in June 2024. The new facility will allow the brand to accommodate
Siemens Building Products has won the ‘Technical Innovation of the Year’ category in the biggest Awards scheme for the building controls and BEMS (Building & Energy Management System) industry. Siemens Wireless Room Solution won the hotly contested product category, sponsored by CIBSE, as one of six finalists at the BCIA
Project management specialists, Greyfriars, have relocated to new offices in Norwich city centre – and marked the occasion with an opening event attended by colleagues, friends and clients. The move is a result of the company’s rapid growth and the need for a bigger space to accommodate its expanding team
The complex multi material roof at Lucent W1, behind the Piccadilly Lights, has won Best Multi-discipline Project over £250k at the national Roofing Awards. The project was a collaborative venture between AccuRoof, roofing contractor E J Roberts and main contractor Wates Group. This mixed-use development behind the Lights at Piccadilly
289 Homes, Commercial Space and ‘Sizeable’ Green Space to be Created Next to Famous Salt Mills World Heritage Site in Shipley. Construction of ‘Saltaire Riverside’ – a vibrant new residential neighbourhood composed of 289 sustainable homes, commercial space and a large riverside park on the edge of the Salts Mills World Heritage Site in Saltaire, Shipley – is on track to start in early summer. Urban regeneration specialist Artisan Real Estate is currently progressing the homes-led transformation of the 11-acre site sandwiched between the River Aire and the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, which was formerly home to an HMRC office complex that closed in October 2021. Demolition of the existing buildings on site – which mainly consist of two large five-storey hexagonal office blocks – is expected to be completed in the coming six weeks, followed by ground preparation works in advance of construction. Material from the demolition will be recycled and used to raise the levels of the site as part of major flood defence works, which will immediately follow the demolition programme. Welcoming the progress on site, James Bulmer, Managing Director for Leeds-based Artisan Real Estate England, said: “Our local contractor, Metropolitan, has been doing excellent work of taking down the existing buildings, and we will soon be moving to processing materials which will be crushed and recycled for re-use on site as part of the forthcoming construction project. We are now hosting regular design team meetings, working on the detailed technical drawing requirements needed to turn our ambitious vision into a reality. Our commercial teams will shortly be going out to tender to find suitable trade sub-contractors to partner with for the project.” Michael Hirst, Managing Director at Metropolitan added: “This has been a great project for Metropolitan. The former HMRC building was a substantial reinforced concrete structure, but our highly skilled teams have been effective, diligent and professional throughout. Artisan is an important client to us and we are working with them on multiple developments across England and Scotland. We look forward to a long lasting relationship.” Artisan’s plans for the new Saltaire Riverside development include the provision of 289 new homes, more than 5,000 sq. ft. of commercial office space designed for flexible working and a café facing on to a new ‘pocket’ park and piazza. A sizeable riverside park will seamlessly link the development to the River Aire, providing woodland, grasslands and lawns to act as a natural flood water storage area whilst pedestrian links will provide direct access to Saltaire Rail Station and the canal towpath. Looking forward to the forthcoming launch of the first new homes phase at Saltaire Riverside, Mr Bulmer confirmed that a new Saltaire Riverside home-sales website will be launched shortly, allowing potential purchasers of to register their interest. He added: “We are excited about starting our initial homes phase, which will deliver a mix of apartments and townhouses to create a much needed sustainable and low carbon residential community. “Our completed development will become a modern interpretation of the adjacent Saltaire Village, bringing much needed sustainable family housing in an accessible, well connected and environmentally responsible setting. It will spectacularly open up a large riverside area, bringing interest and investment to the area and providing a natural, contemporary extension to the existing Saltaire footprint. This is a genuinely groundbreaking homes-led project in an area that is regularly voted as one of the best places to live in the UK.” The neighbouring Saltaire Village is named after Sir Titus Salt who built a textile mill known as Salts Mill and the supporting village overlooking the River Aire in the second half of the 19th century. Designed by architects, Lockwood and Mawson, Saltaire has beautiful Italianate architecture and a rich history and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001. The village was recently named as one of the 72 best places to live in the UK by the annual Sunday Times ‘Best Places to Live Guide’ for 2024. The Sunday Times’ expert judges visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street. Describing Saltaire Village, the judges said: “It was a model village when it was built and two centuries later, Saltaire is a model address for 21st-century living. Now it’s all about artisan coffee hang-outs, cool cafés and restaurants in atmospheric surroundings, along with a snappy commute to the centres of Leeds and Bradford.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Wolseley Infrastructure prepares to unveil its Fusion Utilities brand new and highly anticipated Horizon 29 site in Chesterfield. With the final stage of fit-out underway, the countdown has officially begun for the opening of the new fulfilment centre in June 2024. The new facility will allow the brand to accommodate an extensive range of utilities products so that customers have access to stock when and where they need it. Situated at junction 29A of the M1, the site’s prime location means it offers excellent accessibility to customers across the country, ensuring Fusion’s commitment to excellence in customer service and operational efficiency well into the future. The new state-of-the-art facility spans an impressive 149,113 square feet, seamlessly integrating warehouse and office space for optimised efficiency and service quality. Enabling Fusion Utilities to revolutionise operations in the industry whilst ushering in a brand-new era of seamless service and support for its valued customers to ensure their infrastructure projects continue to be a success. Simon Dennis, National Operations Director at Wolseley Infrastructure said: “We are thrilled with the progress of our new Horizon 29 site. The investment in this site underlines our dedication and unwavering commitment to adaptability and excellence in customer service delivery. “This investment is about ensuring we remain agile and responsive to the evolving needs of our customers, unlocking endless possibilities to better serve them and the delivery of their projects. The Horizon 29 design reflects Fusion Utilities’ commitment to environmental sustainability. The new site boasts environmentally friendly features such as a green exterior, large recycling centre, EV charging and solar panels that future-proof the site and is part of Wolseley’s wider strategy to reduce its carbon footprint and committing to more sustainable practices. With the finishing touches going into the final phase of the project, the landmark development highlights Wolseley Infrastructure’s commitment to delivering excellent customer service and continued innovation in the utilities sector. To find out more about Wolseley Infrastructure and its brands, visit here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Siemens Building Products has won the ‘Technical Innovation of the Year’ category in the biggest Awards scheme for the building controls and BEMS (Building & Energy Management System) industry. Siemens Wireless Room Solution won the hotly contested product category, sponsored by CIBSE, as one of six finalists at the BCIA (Building Controls Industry Association) Awards dinner at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham on 2 May, 2024. It was the first time the Awards have been presented at this venue which saw almost 500 people attend the annual celebration of innovation, product development, project delivery and training in this important sector of the construction industry. The Wireless Room Solution from Siemens features three new sensors as part of the company’s ongoing development of the company’s expanding IoT range. The battery-operated sensors allow quick and easy installation to provide important monitoring of indoor air quality (IAQ), with three options available: temperature only; temperature and relative humidity; temperature, relative humidity and CO2. With buildings being repurposed and reconfigured, the capability for ease of installation or relocation of sensors to meet new requirements without damaging walls and ceilings through re-wiring is a particular advantage. With CO2 being an excellent indicator of IAQ, the new sensor offers a measurement accuracy of +/-2%. Open interfaces are key in enabling more intelligent room devices and building solutions. The new sensors communicate wirelessly through Thread – an open source, mesh networking, IP-based protocol – meaning they operate seamlessly, either with Siemens own BMS, such as the popular Desigo system, or with those of other manufacturers. Entrants were required to provide a testimonial from a product user and the comment on the Wireless Room Solution recognised that it was “…fast and easy to deploy with continuous data reporting capabilities, automated alarms and no line of sight required…enabling installation of 20 room sensors in a single day.” The Awards were hosted by comedian Ellie Taylor, with funds raised for Carers UK, the charity nominated by new BCIA President, Stacey Lucas. Sachin Penukonda from Siemens was also one of the nominees in the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ category which was ultimately won by Anya Turner of Schneider Electric. Commenting on the award, Ron Purcell, Product Manager for Siemens Building Products, UK and Ireland, said – “we are naturally delighted to win such a prestigious award. Innovation is so important in continuing to drive forward improvements in creating healthy, energy efficient and productive building environments so to win this category is particularly pleasing.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Project management specialists, Greyfriars, have relocated to new offices in Norwich city centre – and marked the occasion with an opening event attended by colleagues, friends and clients. The move is a result of the company’s rapid growth and the need for a bigger space to accommodate its expanding team – and expanding client portfolio. Held on Friday 19th April, the event welcomed guests to the firm’s new Queens Road offices to celebrate their move. “It’s brilliant to bring everyone together and mark the start of a new chapter in our company story! It seems like just yesterday that we moved to our previous offices, but having expanded to a team of 15, this move is much-needed!” says Jon Barnard, Director of Greyfriars Project Management. Greyfriars Project Management – who work with big name clients in the public, private and charity sectors – have quadrupled in size in just four years and aim to target sustainable growth of 50% over the next three years. Their new office provides ample space to accommodate the company’s increasing staff and support its commitment to providing top-tier project management services to its clients. Since the business was founded in 2018, the project management specialists have worked with big names, including National Highways, National Trust and Norfolk County Council. But, Greyfriars’ director Jon Barnard is keen to state that none of this would have been possible without the dedicated support of the Greyfriars team. “The excellent support of the Greyfriars team has been instrumental to the business’s success! This office move is part of our continued commitment to investing in our people. We’ve invested in a bigger space, as well as the equipment and infrastructure needed to support a growing team and provide everyone with the tools and training they need to do a fantastic job for our clients and the community!” adds Jon. Greyfriars Project Management are unique in that they only work on projects which deliver genuine community value. “The central location of our new office is perfectly situated to allow us to get even more involved in community-engagement activities. Plus, it means we’re easily accessible on foot and via public transport, which is not only good for staff and visitors, but kinder to the environment too” concludes Jon. Greyfriars Project Management provide independent, professional project management support services for all types of building, transport and placemaking projects. They’ve successfully delivered projects throughout the UK and pride themselves on their flexible approach to providing services which suit their clients’ requirements. To find out more about Greyfriars Project Management, visit https://greyfriarspm.com/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The complex multi material roof at Lucent W1, behind the Piccadilly Lights, has won Best Multi-discipline Project over £250k at the national Roofing Awards. The project was a collaborative venture between AccuRoof, roofing contractor E J Roberts and main contractor Wates Group. This mixed-use development behind the Lights at Piccadilly Circus in London’s West End has one of the most complex roofs ever to be built in the capital across an almost complete city block. Designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, the project unified thirteen different buildings including several historic facades and the treatment of the new roof was integral to their design. AccuRoof were commissioned by Wates Group to design the complex folding roof to meet the architects’ original design intent, plus targets of BREEAM Outstanding and the Gold WELL Building Standard. The solution was to design in planes of natural slate, but stringent environmental and fire safety requirements ruled out the use of hot works or lead flashings. The solution the AccuRoof came up with, their design office detailed and E J Roberts executed, is a roof comprised of three different roofing systems. Planes of Cwt-y-bugail Natural Slate make up the bulk of the roof, elZinc Lava zinc provides flashings, gutters, balcony edges and cladding, and IKO Permatec Hot Melt inverted roof system is used for the flat roof areas, the 22 terraces and behind the iconic Lights. The design challenges on the project were many and included: coordinating the interfaces between slate, hot melt and zinc; facilitating the shedding of rainwater from complex interlocking roof planes, some of which fold down the side of the building, and designing to a steel frame which required up to 20mm movement both horizontally and vertically. Altogether the design team produced over 300 details. The construction challenges included: building a massive test rig to test the roof design and construction to European standards for weathertightness and up to 100mph winds; operating in one of the busiest parts of the West End with limited access and two flagship retail stores kept open; storing all the slates on the incomplete roof after the crane was dismantled half way through the package, and implementing dozens of reworked details that would frequently occur between the rebuilt historic facades and a new steel frame. All the roofing materials were supplied through SIG Roofing’s extensive supply chain, via its Kentish Town outlet and a separate holding area near the site. All materials were craned on site, but a tight programme meant that the crane was dismantled part way through the roofing package and all 28,000 slates had to be stored on top of the building weeks before their installation. E J Roberts Roofing is an experienced multi-disciplinary roofing contractor registered with AccuRoof’s ACIS Contractor Installer Scheme. The firm has over sixty years’ experience and their slaters alone who worked on this project have over 100 years’ joint experience in slating. AccuRoof’s registered contractors receive priority training, technical and on-site support from experienced field technicians, allowing the AccuRoof design team to take on the design liability for certain projects and ensure the project receives a reliable warranty. Emerson Bennett, Managing Director at E J Roberts Roofing said, “We are absolutely delighted to have been recognized by the Roofing Awards. It is testament to our many decades of experience in roofing and the collaborative way in which this complex project was approached that we were able to bring out the very best in our team and deliver to such a high standard.” Chris Lodge, Managing Director of SIG UK Exteriors agreed. “Only a single roofing design specialist and a single roofing contractor in a collaborative relationship could have successfully delivered this project. The teamwork of AccuRoof and E J Roberts to deliver on this project was fantastic and showcases the unique multi-solution and end to end value of the AccuRoof offer. Expertise in design, over multiple covering solutions, supported right through to distribution service from our specialist SIG Roofing branch network, in this case the team at our Kentish Town branch.” The judges said, “A final product of the highest quality was delivered by the install team.” Read an article about how the complex roof was designed and built: https://accuroof.co.uk/article/lucent-w1-how-the-complex-roof-was-built/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
