Material Finish: Recon. Acid Etched

4a Southbank Place

4A Southbank Place, York Road, Bishop’s, London SE1 7NW

4a Southbank Place Headline Facts:

643 reconstructed stone panels, covering 7,876 square meters.

Contractor : Canary Wharf Group Ltd.

Architect : Squire and Partners

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.

1 Southbank Place

1 Southbank Place, York Road, Bishop’s, London SE1 7NW

1 Southbank Place Headline Facts:

563 reconstructed stone panels, covering 7,905 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.

Southbank Place 1 appears to step backwards in three blocks from the ground floor to story 5, from level 6 to level 9 and finally, from level 10 to level 14.

The building features 2 and 3 storey height panels, which were 11 metres long.  A major feature of the panels was their extra deep returns on the legs which creates a solar shade and visually achieves the architects design intent.

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. 

A canopy was created down one elevation of building 1 to create a semi-enclosed space linking buildings 1 and 2.  The canope interfaces with the steel work and it was this interface, whilst small in size, was crucial in the overall development of the canope and was incredibly intricate for our draughtsmen to model.

Local Blackfriars

Local Blackfriars, Salford, Manchester

484 reconstructed stone and terracotta faced panels, covering 5,574 square meters.

Contractor : Domis Construction

Architect : Jon Matthews Architects

The Finer Details:

Local Blackfriars is a beautiful gated residential project, comprising 380 apartments, penthouses and townhouses across two striking towers, in Blackfriars, Greater Manchester. The Blackfriar, a Grade II listed former public house, has been repurposed to act as a gateway entrance for the development. This striking look of the towers was achieved using a combination of finishes. Throughout the buildings, the panels consist of a granite based reconstituted stone, with a polished finish and variations of green tiles cast into the panels.

An acid etched finish forms the base and crown or the top of the buildings, which provides the buildings with an elongated appearance. Techrete were responsible for the architectural precast elements of the project and for the structural columns which sit from the base of the buildings to the second floor. These were also produced in a polished, reconstituted stone. A key feature of this project from a Techrete perspective, was the fixing of the balconies directly to the panels on-site, facilitating much simpler construction and installation.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 748 High Road, Tottenham, London N17 0AP

THFC Stadium Headline Facts:

813 reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,492 square meters.

Contractor : Mace

Architect : Populous

The Finer Details:

Tottenham Hotspur’s new 62,000-capacity stadium in north London has made wide use of precast concrete – including creation of the football club’s famous crest and motto.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’s new stadium set a new benchmark for sporting arenas in the UK, and the construction work was also of the highest quality.

The 62,000-seater venue in north London, the largest club stadium in the capital, is designed to be multi-purpose and features the world’s first dividing, retractable football pitch, which reveals a synthetic turf pitch underneath for NFL London Games, concerts, and other events.

Designed by specialist stadium architects Populous, with construction management handled by Mace, work on the project got under way in 2015.

Precast concrete has been used widely, including the terrace sections in the seating bowl, vomitories, stairways, concourse, and external areas, as well as spectacular visual signatures of the football club’s identity.

Tottenham’s famous crest, a cockerel standing on a football, and the Latin motto ‘Audere Est Facere’ – ‘To Dare is To Do’ – were created as giant architectural precast panels by Techrete and are visible inside the concourse areas under the seating bowl.

Bespoke moulds were designed for the precast letters. The 27 Tottenham lettering panels measured 2,000mm in length and 2,200mm in width, and each weighed a tonne.  

XYZ Building

XYZ Building, 2 Hardman Boulevard, Manchester M3 3AQ

XYZ Building Headline Facts:

388 reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,836 square meters.

Contractor : McLaren Construction

Architect : Cartwright Pickard

Wick High School

Wick High School, 7 Newton Road, Wick KW1 5SA

Wick High School Headline Facts:

511 reconstructed stone panels, covering 3,420 square meters.

Contractor : Morrison

Architect : Ryder Architecture

Westfield Shopping Centre

Westfield Shopping Centre, Ariel Way, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 7GF

Westfield Shopping Centre Headline Facts:

970 reconstructed stone panels, covering 5,674 square meters.

Contractor : Westfield

Architect : Sheppard Robson

St. Paul’s School

St. Pauls School, Lonsdale Road, Barnes, London SW13 9JT

St. Paul’s School Headline Facts:

164 reconstructed stone panels.

Contractor : Mace

Architect : Grant Associates

Spencer Dock

Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1

Spencer Dock Headline Facts:

1,600 reconstructed stone panels, covering 11,700 square meters.

Contractor : CMP

Architect : Scott Tallon Walker

Southgate Bath

Southgate Bath, 12 Southgate Street, Bath BA1 1AQ

Southgate Bath Headline Facts:

1,700 natural stone faced and reconstructed stone panels, covering 19,000 square meters.

Contractor : Sir Robert McAlpine

Architect : Chapman Taylor

Smithfield

Smithfield, Dublin 1

Smithfield Headline Facts:

700 natural stone faced and panels covering 5,500 square meters.

Contractor : G&T Crampton

Architect : HKR

Severn Trent

Severn Trent, 2 St Johns Street, Coventry CV1 2LZ

Severn Trent Headline Facts:

386 natural stone faced and reconstructed stone panels, covering 6,270 square meters.

Contractor : BAM

Architect : Webb Gray

Scottish Crime Campus

Scottish Crime Campus, Craignethan Drive, Gartcosh, Glenboig, Glasgow G69 8AE

Scottish Crime Campus Headline Facts:

405 reconstructed stone panels, covering 8,100 square meters.

Contractor : Graham Construction

Architect : Ryder

Satellite Circle Square

Satellite Circle Square, 2 Nobel Way, Manchester M1 7FA

Satellite Circle Square Headline Facts :

423 reconstructed stone panels, covering 5,226 square meters.

Contractor : Wates Construction

Architect : 5 Plus Architects

Victoria Gate

Victoria Gate, Vicar Lane, Leeds LS2 7AU

Victoria Gate Headline Facts:

573 reconstructed stone panels, covering 6,789 square meters.

Contractor : Sir Robert McAlpine

Architect : ACME

The Finer Details :

Victoria Gate is located in the heart of Leeds City Centre and was designed to incorporate a flagship John Lewis Store and internal shopping arcades. The architectural precast concrete cladding on this inspirational project, demonstrates how far the limits of precast concrete engineering can be pushed. Combining different acid etched and polished finishes within the various sections, a design with intricate geometry and a complex installation process, coupled with the utilisation of BIM 3D design tools, all demonstrates what can be achieved with precast facades.

The diagrid pattern was deconstructed by Techrete engineers to panelise a façade that would fit with precast manufacturing needs and yet not compromise the architectural intent. Overall, the architectural precast concrete cladding on the John Lewis store has created a unique and memorable identity and showcases just what can be achieved with such a versatile product and Techrete expertise.


Awards for this project include ‘British Precast Creativity in Concrete 2017’ and ‘Irish Concrete Society International Project of the Year 2017’

Project Capella

Project Capella, Puddicombe Way, Cambridge CB2 0AF

Project Capella Headline Facts:

246 reconstructed stone panels covering 3,300 square meters.

Contractor : Kier Construction

Architect : Fairhursts Design Group

Watch our Video Here:

Primark Edinburgh

Primark, 91 – 93 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 2ER

Primark Edinburgh Headline Facts:

345 reconstructed stone panels, covering 2,561 square meters.

Contractor : Patton Group

Architect : 3D Reid

Northumbria Police HQ

Northumbria Police HQ, Middle Engine Lane, Wallsend, Tyne & Wear NE28 9NT

Northumbria Police HQ Headline Facts:

725 reconstructed stone panels, covering 8,300 square meters.

Contractor : Miller Construction

Architect : Ryder

London Fruit & Wool Exchange

London Fruit & Wool Exchange, 1-10 Brushfield Sreet, Poplar, London E1 6EN

London Fruit & Wool Exchange Headline Facts:

646 reconstructed stone and brick faced panels, covering 5,232 square meters.

Contractor : Sir Robert McAlpine

Architect : Bennetts Associates

Leeds DHQ

Leeds Police DHQ, Stainbeck Lane, Leeds LS7 3QU

Leeds DHQ Headline Facts:

Contractor : Interserve

Architect : Jacobs