The Eagle Centre, Derby
Eagle Centre Headline Facts:
500 reconstructed stone panels, covering 2,700 square meters.
Contractor : Westfield Shopping Towns
Architect : Westfield Shopping Towns
Material Finish: Recon. Acid Etched
Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh EH16 4DS
Craigmillar Library Headline Facts:
300 reconstructed stone panels covering 2,600 square meters.
Contractor : Graham Construction
Architect : Keppie Architects
Collegelands, Havannah Street, Glasgow G4 0UB
Collegelands Headline Facts:
750 brick faced and reconstructed stone panels, covering 8,500 square meters.
Contractor : Dawn Construction
Architect : Page Park Architects
Clarence Dock, The Boulevard, Leeds LS10 1PZ
Clarence Dock Headline Facts:
442 reconstructed stone panels, covering 5,850 square meters.
Contractor : Shepherd
Architect : Carey Jones Architects
Newcastle Labs, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP
Newcastle Labs Headline Facts:
398 reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,757 square meters.
Contractor : Kier Construction
Architect : Ryder Architecture
Calthorpe House, Birmingham
Calthorpe House Headline Facts:
400 reconstructed stone panels, covering 5,300 square meters.
Contractor : BAM
Architect : Webb Gray
Bridgewater Place, Leeds
Bridgewater Place Headline Facts:
1,050 reconstructed stone panels, covering 11,000 square meters.
Contractor : Bovis Lendlease
Architect : Aedas
Bluewater Shopping Centre, Bluewater Parkway, Dartford, Greenhithe DA9 9ST
Titanic Quarter, Queens Road, Belfast BT3 9DE
Titanic Quarter Headline Facts:
1,592 reconstructed stone panels, covering 10,303 square meters.
Contractor : Harcourt Construction
Architect : Todd Architects
Barton Square, Stretford, Manchester M17 8BN
Barton Square Headline Facts:
470 brick faced and reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,300 square meters.
Contractor : Lendlease
Architect : Leach Rhodes
One Bedford Avenue, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3AU
One Bedford Avenue Headline Facts:
253 reconstructed stone panels, covering 2,614 square meters.
Contractor : Mace Group
Architect : Bennetts Associates
Ashington Leisure Centre, Lintonville Terrace, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9JY
Ashington Leisure Centre Headline Facts:
158 reconstructed stone panels, covering 4,737 square meters.
Contractor : Carillion
Architect : Ryder Architecture
Abell & Clelland, 32 John Islip St, Westminster, London SW1P 4DD
Abell & Clelland Headline Facts:
4,445 reconstructed stone panels, covering 26,071 square meters.
Contractor : Berkley Homes
Architect : EPR & DSDHA Architects
5 Pancras Square, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AG
5 Pancras Square Headline Facts:
146 reconstructed stone panels, covering 1,350 square meters.
Contractor : Kier Construction
Architect : Weedon Partnership
The Finer Details:
This unique building has won many accolades for its design including the RIBA London Regional Award 2015, The RIBA London Sustainability Award 2015, and most recently, the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award. Furthermore it has achieved the BREEAM level of ‘Outstanding’.
It was built as the new headquarters for Camden Council and is clad at the lower levels with Techrete precast concrete panels. There were a lot of constraints encountered on site and the ground to 3rd floor cladding had to be installed in advance of the super structure. Due to the site logistics and proposed crane sizes and positons, normal installation hours could not be accommodated on site as these would have blocked deliveries and affected progress on site. There was also site off -loading restrictions.
To avoid these issues, Techrete panels were installed between 7pm and 7am using the site tower cranes. The line and level works were carried out during the day. Another challenge faced was the installation of the circular columns. This proved interesting as they were underslung units and there was reduced headroom available.
As with other projects in the Kings Cross area, there were network rail restrictions which required the downgrading of all craneage by 25%. This problem was alleviated by using mobile cranes where appropriate, although there was some back propping required to the slab during this operation.
A reconstituted stone mix was chosen in an acid etched finish which gives the building a regal finish, allowing it to blend effortlessly with the prestige of the neighbouring buildings and surroundings.
3 Pancras Square, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AG
3 Pancras Square Headline facts:
593 reconstructed stone panels covering 7,725 square meters.
Contractor : BAM
Architect : Porphyros Architects
The Finer Details:
Techrete were awarded the contract for the design, manufacture and installation of the pre-cast elements of number 3 Pancras Square. The building comprises of an architecturally complex precast concrete facade which attaches to a steel-work frame over 10 floors. The building blends effortlessly with the other projects in the Kings Cross area, complementing the other Techrete buildings surrounding it. Production began at our facility in January 2015, with the first panels arriving on-site in July 2015. The project completed in December of that year.
Chiswick Point, 1 Bollo Lane, Colonial Drive, London
Chiswick Point Headline Facts:
803 reconstructed stone panels, covering 7,332 square meters.
Contractor : Graham Construction
Architects : John Robertson Architects
Lombard Wharf, 12 Lombard Rd, Battersea, London SW11 3AY
Lombard Wharf Headline Facts:
1,239 reconstructed stone panels, covering 6,413 square meters.
Contractor : Barrett Homes
Architect : Patel Taylor
The Finer Details:
Situated on Lombard Road in Battersea, London, this 299-foot residential building was designed by Patel Taylor Architects and the construction of this exceptional build was led by Barratt Homes. With stunning views over the Thames and London City, Lombard Wharf was one of the last remaining river front sites in Wandsworth, so it was important that the building made both a positive and dynamic contribution to the capital’s skyline.
The building appears to twist as it rises, which was achieved with very subtle changes to the positioning of the white precast concrete balconies. These subtle twists were to portray an appearance of carved stone and in order to achieve both this extraordinary shape and carved stone impression, Techrete were subcontracted to design, manufacture and deliver the architectural precast concrete cladding for the façade of Lombard Wharf.
It was understood that Techrete would not only deliver this desired stone effect, but also equip the project with their extensive experience and efficiency and provide quality control for each and every balcony, resulting in both cost and time effectiveness.
As the carved stone effect was an intricate and vital element of the build, the mix selection was crucial. Selected was the creamy and light C317 mix with Mica, which added a sparkle. Finally, finished with a light acid etched finish which exposed the natural aggregate and gives the balconies a more realistic stone feel. It was cast in a two-stage process ensuring a quality finish on all faces.
The resulting building went on to win awards in the Evening Standard New Home Awards, The Irish Concrete Society Awards and the What House Awards. Additionally, Lombard Wharf was shortlisted for the Architects Journal Housing Project of the Year (over 10m) 2018.
Visual Control Tower, Dublin Airport
Visual Control Tower Headline Facts:
115 reconstructed stone panels, covering 2,375 square meters.
Contractor: BAM
Architect: Scott Tallon Walker
The Finer Details :
The Visual Control Tower at Dublin Airport is one of the tallest structures in Ireland and it is Ireland’s tallest occupied building. Contracted by BAM and standing at 87.7 metres high, the tower provides clear views for current and future runways at Dublin Airport. Designed by Scott Tallon Walker Architects, the building comprises a 17-storey shaft with a 4 storey control room sitting on top and to help achieve the design brief of an elegant, modern structure, it was essential that the tower shaft displayed no cold joints and that the surface was of an excellent finish.
Techrete were involved on the project with Scott Tallon Walker from the initial concept and design stage of the tower to ensure that their design intent of this unusual project could be achieved. Techrete were engaged to provide and install the curved precast panels for the shaft with feature knuckles arranged in a triangular shape.
Future maintenance was a key consideration for the project and as such, the shaft facade was designed as a rain screen with open drained joggle joints, allowing rain water to funnel behind the panels and drain out at the bottom of the structure, fulfilling the ‘self-cleaning’ intent of the design.
The unusual shape of the shaft and panels required Techrete to design bespoke structural hanging brackets to support the heavy loads of the panels. Multiple curved timber moulds of varying shapes and radii were designed and manufactured to produce the unusual and varying shapes of the panels. The mix chosen for the panels was our popular C190, white mix and panels were given an acid etched finish. A key challenge for Techrete on this project was the limited time to install the panels before the Control Room steel frame was due to arrive on site and be installed.
The Visual Control Tower won ‘Engineering Project of the Year’ at the Irish Building and Design Awards 2019.
10 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2
10 Molesworth Street Headline Facts:
262 brick facing, natural stone facing and reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,515 square meters.
Contractor: PJ Hegarty & Son
Architect: Henry J Lyons
The Finer Details:
Techrete were engaged to design, manufacture and erect over 3,500 m² of architectural brick faced precast concrete cladding panels, as part of the façade of number 10 Molesworth Street. Chosen for our speed of erection and Techrete’s ability to provide for quality control of the brickwork and jointing, the architectural precast element consists of mullions, spandrels, parapets and stone-faced wall panels. The carefully chosen mix was Techrete’s timelessly elegant light, warm, off-white mix with an etched finish. To complement the mix, a natural stone-faced wall panel was chosen.
The brick wall panels offered a striking yet complementary contrast to the reconstructed stone mix. The chosen brick is a blended red colour range with off-white mortar joints. To keep with the Georgian tradition, the bricks were laid in a Flemish bond. The building combines both traditional and contemporary design and with careful selection of materials and modern construction methods, the symmetry and overall appearance of the building has managed to adopt the genre of prestige that is synonymous with this area of Dublin.
St. Vincent’s Private Hospital, Merrion Rd, Dublin 4
St Vincent’s Hospital Headline Facts:
292 reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,020 square meters.
Contractor : John Paul Construction
Architect : Scott Tallon Walker