Brazennose House

Brazennose House, Brazennose St, Manchester M2 5AS

Brazennose House Headline Facts:

203 reconstructed stone panels, covering 2,357m2

Contractor : Marshall

Architect : Jon Matthews / 5 Plus Architects

Altus House

Altus House, Tower House St, Way, Leeds LS2 8GH

Altus House Headline Facts:

1,273 reconstructed stone panels constructed offsite, covering 12,139m2

Contractor : RG Group

Architect : O’Connell East

Watch installation progress video by RG group here:

Durham County Council HQ

Durham County Council HQ, Freeman’s Place, Durham City, Durham

Durham County Council HQ Headline Facts :

914 reconstructed stone panels, constructed offsite and covering 6,487m2 of the facade.

Contractor : Kier

Architect : Ryder Architects

University of Warwick

University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL

University of Warwick Headline Facts:

149 single and double storey reconstructed stone panels, constructed offsite and covering 2,841m2 of the façade.

Contractor : Willmott Dixon

Architect : Hawkins Brown

Athlete’s Village No. 3 & 4

Athlete’s Village No. 3 & 4, Victory Parade, East Village, London E15 2ER

Athlete’s Village No. 3 & 4 Headline Facts:

2,065 reconstructed stone and brick faced panels, constructed offsite and covering 17,199m2 of the facades.

Contractor : Lendlease

Architect : Patel Taylor Architects

Athlete’s Village No. 2

Athlete’s Village No. 2, Victory Parade, East Village, London E15 2ER

Athlete’s Village No. 2 Headline Facts:

1,035 precast concrete panels constructed offsite, and covering 8,866m2 of the facade.

Contractor: Ardmore

Architect : Lifschulz Davidson Sandilands and KDS Associates

Swansea University

Swansea University, Singleton Park, Sketty, Swansea SA2 8P

Swansea University Headline facts:

850 precast concrete panels, constructed offsite, covering 7,300m2

Contractor : Vinci

Architect : Glancy Nichols & Powell Dodson

Durham University

Mount Oswald, Durham University, Leazes Road, Durham, DH1 1TA

Durham University Headline Facts :

1,500 brick-facing and reconstructed stone panels, constructed offsite, covering 12,500m2.

Contractor : PCE

Architect : Willmore Iles Architects

Watch Drone Footage of this Project here:

Video Credit : Interserve

Commercial Road

73 – 77 Commercial Road, London E1 1RD

Commercial Road Headline Facts:

223 sandwich panels, constructed offsite, covering 2,562m2.

Contractor : PCE

Architect: Dexter Moren Associates

Cardiff Lane

Cardiff Lane, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2

Cardiff Lane Headline Facts :

463 reconstructed stone panels, constructed offsite, covering 4,387m2.

Contractor : PJ Walls

Architect : Henry J Lyons

Building Performance Rating : LEED Platinum

Maiden Lane

Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London NW1 9UQ

Maiden Lane Headline Facts :

2,228 reconstructed stone panels, covering 19,734 square meters.

Architect : PRP

Contractor : Sisk

Grangegorman Central Quad

Grangegorman Lower, Arran Quay, Dublin 7

Grangegorman Central Quad Headline Facts:

611 brick faced panels covering 9,439 square meters.

Contractor : Sisk / FCC JV

Architect : FCB Studios

Sovereign Court

Handley House, Sovereign Court, Hammersmith, London W6 0BT

Sovereign Court Headline Facts:

382 reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,060 square meters.

Contractor : St. George (Berkeley Group)

Architect :  Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands

The Temple

Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Kingsbury, Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Complex, Kingsbury Road, NW9 8AQ

The Temple Headline Facts :

224 reconstructed stone panels, covering 2,760 square meters.

Contractor : FDL

Architect : LTS Architects

E05 Wembley Park

Wembley Park, Wembley, Brent, London

E05 Wembley Park Headline Facts:

1,610 brick faced and reconstructed stone panels with punched windows and Juliette balconies, covering 17,500 square meters.

Contractor : Sisk

Architect : PRP

The Finer Details :

Wembley Park is a transformational urban regeneration scheme in the heart of London, renewing the long-neglected space around the national stadium in London. It is creating a vibrant new district which will be home to the UK’s largest single-site build to rent scheme, with over 7,000 residential units, helping to address the UK’s shortage of affordable homes. Since 2004, a range of impressive projects have been delivered at Wembley Park, however the E05 project is the first time that precast concrete has been selected as the preferred facade at Wembley Park. Techrete were awarded the contract and works began in December of 2018.

E05 comprises 458 residences and associated amenities over three blocks, ranging between 10 and 21 storeys. Located immediately adjacent to the stadium, it also provides a linked basement car park for residents, a ground level coach park and two levels of accessible parking for Wembley Stadium. Sisk are expected to complete all works onsite by October 2020.

Within 18 months (December 2018 – May 2020), Techrete had designed, manufactured, and installed 1,610 architectural precast brick-faced panels, incorporating 2,000 windows and covering 17,500 square meters of the buildings facades.

Watch Installation Progress Video Here:

Video Courtesy of Quintain. Video Credit : Site Eye

University College London Hospital

University College London Hospital, 235 Euston Rd, Bloomsbury, London NW1 2BU

UCLH Headline Facts:

1,381 brick faced panels, covering 17, 227m²

Contractor : Mace

Architect : Pilbrow & Partners

Penrose Two

Penrose Two, Penrose Dock, Co. Cork T23 YY09

Penrose Two Headline Facts :

179 reconstructed stone panels, covering 2,841 square meters.

Contractor : Hegarty

Architect : Wilson Architecture

The Finer Details :

Situated on the banks of the River Lee in Cork, Penrose One & Two is a commercial development constructed by Hegarty Construction and designed by Wilson Architecture.  The buildings enhance the emerging skyline at Cork’s docklands and delivers 250,000 square foot of sustainable, Grade A office space.  Situated in close proximity to the historical Penrose House, the buildings designs are based on classical proportions with the intention of embracing and enhancing their historical neighbour.

Techrete was awarded the tender to design, manufacture and install the architectural precast concrete cladding façades for both buildings at Penrose Dock.  

Penrose One is organised in three distinct vertical modules with Techrete’s double height vertical mullions elongating the building’s appearance. Structural precast concrete columns rise from ground level to the third floor, cast in three parts and stitched together, creating a grand entrance to the building and further elongating its appearance.   The precast concrete façade of Penrose Two also consists of mullions and spandrels and the consistency of both façades provides a framing approach to the original Penrose House. 

The chosen mix for the project was Techrete’s C190 with an acid etched finish, with provides a warm soft appearance to the façades. 

Cast-in lettering was used on panels for Penrose One and Two providing elegant signage for the two entrances.

Watch Penrose 1 & 2 Video Here :

Video Credit : JCD Group

Penrose One

Penrose One, Penrose Dock, Co. Cork T23 YY09

Penrose One, Penrose Dock Headline Facts

376 reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,603 meters.

Contractor : PJ Hegarty

Architect : Wilson Architecture

The Finer Details :

Situated on the banks of the River Lee in Cork, Penrose One & Two is a commercial development constructed by Hegarty Construction and designed by Wilson Architecture.  The buildings enhance the emerging skyline at Cork’s docklands and deliver 250,000 square foot of sustainable, Grade A office space.  Situated in close proximity to the historical Penrose House, the buildings designs are based on classical proportions with the intention of embracing and enhancing their historical neighbour.

Techrete was awarded the tender to design, manufacture and install the architectural precast concrete cladding façades for both buildings at Penrose Dock.  

Penrose One is organised in three distinct vertical modules with Techrete’s double height vertical mullions elongating the building’s appearance. Structural precast concrete columns rise from ground level to the third floor, cast in three parts and stitched together, creating a grand entrance to the building and further elongating its appearance.   The precast concrete façade of Penrose Two also consists of mullions and spandrels and the consistency of both façades provides a framing approach to the original Penrose House. 

The chosen mix for the project was Techrete’s C190 with an acid etched finish, which provides a warm soft appearance to the façades. 

Cast-in lettering was used on panels for Penrose One and Two providing elegant signage for the two entrances.

Watch Penrose 1 & 2 Video Here :

Video Credit : JCD Group

Duncan House

Duncan House, Stratford, London E15 2JB

Duncan House Headline Facts:

1,487 reconstructed stone panels, covering 18,500 square meters.

Contractor : Watkins and Jones

Architect : Hodder and Partners

The Finer Details :

Duncan House in Stratford, London is a mixed-use development which offers residential apartments, student bedrooms, academic space and has a roof garden and sky lounge.  Designed by Hodder and Partners and with Watkin Jones as the main contractor, this development completed in September/October 2019.

The 9-storey podium block of the development defines the street edge and responds to the lower rise buildings surrounding the site.  The podium’s right-angle arrangement within its site allows a significant piece of public realm to be formed at the junction of High Street with Lett Road. The composition of the tower with its fins creates a striking silhouette against the sky.

Techrete were engaged to design, manufacture and install the 1,487 panels, covering the 18,500 square meters of cladding which makes up the façade of Duncan House.  The reconstructed stone mix chosen for the project was C280 with a light pigment and an acid etched finish. 

The structural precast columns to the first floor were manufactured by Techrete and create right angle public colonnade.

Approximately 2,500 windows were fitted at our factory to the panels and the combination of these panels, together with the concrete infill as well as louvres which were also fitted in our factory, make up the façade of the structure.

Creating the moulds for the 1,487 panels with high repetition was always going to be a challenge.  Steel moulds were developed to facilitate this, and bespoke steel cassettes were vital in speeding up the process of casting the window panels in particular.

Three Techrete teams installed the panels using three tower cranes and due to the high-rise nature of the building, the Bomecon counter-balance rig was utilised to assist with the installation while the core structure was still being completed over-head. 

Duncan House is mainly a student residence, and it is a prestigious project to add to Techrete’s student residence portfolio, particularly in the city of London.  Following on from the successful completion of the project, Techrete entered talks with the main contractor, Watkin Jones for the tendering of several other projects.

Duncan House won ‘Best Tall Building – Facade Engineering Project of the year’ at the Tall Building Awards in December 2020 and has achieved a ‘BREEAM Excellent’ rating.

4b Southbank Place

4b Southbank Place, York Road, Bishop’s, London SE1 7LZ

4b Southbank Place Headline Facts:

500 reconstructed stone panels, covering 6,124 square meters.

Contractor : Canary Wharf Group PLC

Architect : Squire and Partners

Watch our video here :

Video credit : Gary Britton Photography
The Finer Details :

The redevelopment of Southbank Place in central London comprises 8 new buildings surrounding the quarter’s centrepiece, the Shell Centre Tower.  The overall redevelopment once completed, will be home to a mixture of offices, residences and retail space and will integrate with open public areas and pedestrian routes.  Techrete were engaged by Canary Wharf Group PLC to design, manufacture and install the precast concrete panels for three of the buildings within the quarter and these were Building 1, Building 4A and Building 4B. 

Self-compacting concrete using Techrete’s C190 mix for a warm off-white colour, was finished with acid etching to lightly expose the aggregate, giving the panels a soft slightly textured appearance.  Granite plinths were also utilised in a Kurum Grey finish and these were supplied to Techrete by Savema. 

On buildings 4A and 4B Techrete’s C190 reconstructed stone mix was also used with an acid etched finish.  Two storey height panels were manufactured with a vertical indentation in the panels up to levels 10, elongating the structures and creating an elegant ribbed effect. 

3D modelling was vital for all three buildings from a Techrete perspective as the extensive steel work of the frames had to be co-ordinated throughout the building.  Two bridges on levels 4 and 8 linking buildings one and two, handrail interfaces throughout the building and the interfacing canope described below, all added to the complexity of the design work.  Some clashes with the mechanical and engineering work were detected at an early stage and rectified by our design team before any delays were incurred. 

GRC soffits were used to clad the over-head areas of the public colonnades on buildings 4A and 4B.

The open structures on the roofs of buildings 4A and 4B were tricky as there were 4 sided columns and beams to negotiate and additionally the steel frames were being built over-head as we were cladding the mid-levels which required a high level of co-ordination and the use of our Bomecon counter balance rig.