RCM, a major supplier of complete through-wall solutions, have announced their plans to exhibit at this year’s Timber Expo, part of the Construction Week UK exhibition held at the NEC in Birmingham between the 9th and 11th of October, for the second time running. Following on from last year’s huge success, RCM are looking forward to a repeat performance at this year’s event. The 24 sqm eye-catching exhibition stand will feature RCM’s complete facades and building boards range, with samples to be taken away by visitors. Moreover, back by popular choice, the visually exciting display of Supertech Weatherboard will showcase again, featuring a full range of colours thereby giving visitors a good impression of the choices on offer. RCM will also be demonstrating eight revolving methods of through-wall solutions and two special fire-rated through-wall solutions, all consisting of a selection of portfolio materials. These modules can also be rotated, allowing visitors to look at the construction from several angles, providing a good understanding of how the different elements integrate to make up a truly effective through-wall solution. “RCM are once again looking forward to taking part in this prestigious event. Last year’s exhibition was a huge success for RCM and we have again been very busy with preparations for this years’ show. We hope to be able to replicate our success and hope visitors will like what we, as a company, can deliver. Please visit us at our stand located at T230,” said Ian Quinton, managing director at RCM. Timber Expo is the UK’s only timber show, covering a wide range of timber applications from timber frame and cladding to fixings and much more. Highlight at this year’s event include the latest products, innovations and developments across the sector. As well as attracting important visitors such as architects, merchants and housebuilders, all of timber’s governing bodies and associations will be present at the exhibition.

Pura Facades, the architectural cladding specialist, has become the sole UK distributor of VetaBric, the latest entrant to the fact-growing brick slip panel market.Acting as a lightweight panel alternative to traditional bricks, VetaBric can accurately reproduce the aesthetic of the majority of brick brands. Available in a new, ultra-thin, pre-mortared joint, VetaBric panels weight just 12.5kg per m2, offering a sleek and modern look to the facade. While architects love the creative possibilities of this product, contractors appreciate the speed at which the panels are hung – up to a third quicker than traditional bricklaying according to Pura’s commercial director James Butler. “Given the dearth of skilled labour and long lead times of bricks in the UK, solutions such as VetaBric are becoming much more popular with developers, architects and contractors. And despite being only 25mm thick, we’re finding the product to be dense and rigid; therefore very robust once installed on site,” commented James Butler. “A project we were recently involved with – a residential development in Thornton Heath, South London – shows how effective brick slip can be. The project was finished on time and within budget, thanks in some measure to the adoption of VetaBric,” he added. VetaBric is manufactured off-site in Lille, northern France, meaning it is supporting the UK’s move toward modular construction methods. It can be fixed onto a wide range of substrates including masonry, lightweight steel or timber frames – all using the extensive range of fixings provided by Pura. VetaBric also provides a joint free solution to facades, as any visible fixings are hidden by mortar applied once the panel is installed.

West Midlands Safari Park chose the Kingspan TEK Building System to provide research and educational space that will have minimal impact on the site due to the lightweight system. Delivery partners Glosford SIPS pre-cut to specification 5000 m2 of the Kingspan TEK Building System in a 142 mm thickness. “We needed to provide large teaching spaces within a quick construction period that would leave no footprint on the land if it was returned to grazing land in the future. The Kingspan TEK Building System was an obvious choice as it is low maintenance and lightweight. It also provided a well-insulated structure to help us meet Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) compliance,” explained Richard Painter, director of Painter Architects. Manufactured off-site, the building envelope was transported to the park and then craned into position above screw pile foundations. “With the installation having to be completed during the closed season, there had to be a quick turnaround. We have had lots of experience working with Kingspan though and the system is really quick – the entire envelope was up in two weeks! We also really enjoyed working alongside the Safari Park construction team and the wild animals too,” said Mike Fleming, director of Glosford SIPS. For the design, the Kingspan TEK panels were clad with cedar and African art panels on the walls. Dark green corrugated tin sheeting was then added on the mono pitched roof to blend in with the landscape and fit the aesthetic of the park. By erecting a Kingspan TEK Building System envelope, the project could accomplish ‘excellent’ levels of thermal performance by achieving U-values of 0.20 W/m2.K or better for the walls and roof. The insulated spline jointing detail, in combination with its OSB/3 facing bonded to a highly insulated core, was said to have ensured minimal thermal bridging through the insulation layer and resulted in a very airtight building shell which offered air permeability of less than 1 m3/hr.m2 at 50Pa. Once the system was sealed with a breather membrane, the entire structure became watertight.

Dulux Trade Paint Expert, part of AkzoNobel, secured four accolades at the Painting and Decorating Association’s 30th annual awards ceremony, following nominations for 11 projects across seven categories. The company took home the prize in the commercial sector after working on a high school in Neston, Cheshire, where its products transformed the school. Moreover, the global paints and coating manufacturer was awarded for its role in the reinvigoration of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Oldham, Greater Manchester, with its products having been specified by Bernard Watson and his team to carefully and sensitively redecorate the church, which dates back to the 1800s. The third accolade was won in the Residential category, in which Dulux Trade was specified by the Caring Homes Group for the redecoration of a social housing project in Cheltenham. The firm transformed a space using colour beyond aesthetics, allowing Ian Williams Ltd to create an environment that will enhance the lives of residents, with the right colour palettes, design and tonal differences to meet the needs of those who live in and use the space. The fourth and final win was offered for its work on the American Embassy in London, which has moved to Nine Elms, where the stunning piece of architecture now overlooks the River Thames. After partnering with Wokingham’s AC Beck Contracts Ltd on the new build project, the award was presented to the project partners in the New Build category. “Putting colour into people’s lives goes far beyond what is in our paint tins. For all of us at Dulux Trade, it’s about enriching and improving lives through enhanced environments, and partnering with our valued Contractor customer to achieve these outcomes. Being recognised in this way alongside our contractor customers is testament to the work that the entire team does day in, day out,” said John Kourtoulos, Sales Director, across contractor and specifier markets at AkzoNobel, who was there to collect the awards.

Armstrong Ceiling Solutions provided the award-winning refurbishment plan of the Grade II listed Hackney Town Hall with customised wall panels. The folded bronze anodised aluminium panels were selected by regular Armstrong specifiers HawkinsBrown architects for the end walls of two underused interior service courtyards that have been transformed into full-height multi-functional atria as part of the redevelopment. The wall panels mimic the original walls behind, including aged brickwork, Crittall windows, drain pipes and services. Their purpose is to conceal new ducts linked to the smoke ventilation system, featuring an acoustic fleece behind the panels to absorb sound. Specialist Omega sub-contractor Roskel Contracts installed some 110m2 of the 1.5mm WH-1000 2m x 1m panels, for contractor Osborne onto a lightweight steel framing system on the walls at the eastern ends of the north and south atria. These were then complemented by anodised trough boxes containing continuous strips of LED lights at the top of each three-storey wall. “We wanted to choose a standard proprietary acoustic wall cladding system for which we could customise the perforation pattern and selected the W-H 1000 Armstrong product after advice from the representative that this would meet our performance requirements and design intent,” said Chloe Marshall, HawkinsBrown associate director. “It was important to us that the perforation pattern could be customised to create a new feature within the rooms rather than a dominating plain rear wall. A bronzed finish was selected to link to the historic building materials of the 1930s interior and to interface well with the London Stock brickwork and painted steel structure of the new ETFE roof,” she added. Hackney Town Hall was built in 1937 by architects Lanchester and Lodge in an Art Deco-style design and for 12 years it has been subjected to an exhaustive 12 year and 12,500m2 restoration and refurbishment programme throughout which it has remained fully open. As well as creating 66% more office space, the refurbishment of Hackney Town Hall is part of a wider masterplan for the London Borough of Hackney, which has made the building more energy efficient. During the programme, 97% of waste was diverted from landfill.