Griffith College, South Circular Rd, Merchants Quay, Dublin 8
Griffith College Headline Facts:
550 reconstructed stone and brick faced panels, covering 5,700 square meters.
Contractor : PJ Hegarty
Architect : Aidan Powell & Associates
Panel Type: Single Skin
Gallery Quay, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2
Gallery Quay Headline Facts:
500 reconstructed stone panels, covering 4,400 square meters.
Contractor : Pierse Contracting
Architect : HKR Architects
Five Lamps, Amien Street, North Strand, Dublin 1
Five Lamps Headline Facts:
120 natural stone faced and brick faced panels, covering 1,200 square meters.
Contractor: Townlink Construction
Architect : CMP Architects
Dundrum Shopping Centre, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16
Dundrum Town Centre Headline Facts:
800 reconstructed stone, natural stone faced and terracotta faced panels, covering 8,000 square meters.
Contractor : John Sisk & Son
Architects : BKD Architects
Blackrock Clinic, Rock Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin
Blackrock Clinic Headline Facts:
1,557 square meters of reconstructed stone panels.
Contractor : John Sisk & Son
Architect : David Jordan Architects
Aviva Stadium, Landsdowne Road, Dublin 4
Aviva Stadium Headline Facts:
450 reconstructed stone panels, covering 4,500 square meters.
Contractor : John Sisk & Son
Architect : Scott Tallon Walker
Two New Ludgate, 26 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7HW
Two New Ludgate Headline Facts:
1,230 GRC panels covering 5,000 square meters.
Contractor : Skanska / Gartner
Architect : Sauerbruch Hutton
One New Ludgate, 60 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7AW
One New Ludgate Headline Facts:
1,850 reconstructed stone panels covering 5,900 square meters.
Contractor : Skanska / Scheldebouw
Architect : Fletcher Priest
The Finer Details :
1 New Ludgate, is a retail and commercial development located two blocks east of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and was named the City of London Building of the Year 2016. The system was designed to be installed without the necessity of external access. The vertical fins were supported by a bespoke unitised curtain walling system and they were installed on-site with the glazing. The horizontal ledges are supported on the concrete fins, acting as the horizontal restraint for the cladding as a whole and without interfacing with the glass cladding weather line.
The ground level columns and upper face of the spandrels are polished, which allows for better weathering and lower maintenance. The vertical fins and bottom face of the spandrels are grit blasted for a homogeneous street view. The mix has been specifically designed using Spanish dolomite aggregates and pigments, to achieve this unique impact in the City of London. Awards for this project include RICS London Award 2016, ‘Best Commercial Building’ and ‘City of London Building of the Year’ 2016.
St. Barts Hospital, W Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE
St. Barts Hospital Headline Facts :
680 natural stone faced panels, covering 6,100 square meters.
Contractor : Skanska
Architect : HOK
Regent’s Place, 338 Euston Rd, London NW1 3BT
Regent’s Place Headline Facts :
580 stone faced and reconstructed stone panels covering 6,100 square meters.
Contractor : Lendlease
Architect : Terry Farrell Architects
Plough PLace, Holborn, London
Plough Place Headline Facts :
150 brick faced panels covering 1,500 square meters.
Contractor : Mowlem
Architect : Hamilton Associates
Paternoster Square, London
Paternoster Square Headline Facts:
630 natural stone faced and reconstructed stone panels, covering 6,100 square meters.
Contractor : Bovis Lendlease
Architect : McCormack Jamieson Prichard
Pan Peninsula, Isle of Dogs, London
Pan Peninsula Headline Facts:
1,900 reconstructed stone panels, covering 18,000 square meters.
Contractor : Ballymore Properties LTD
Architect : Skidmore Owings and Merrill
Merrill Lynch, 2 King Edward St, Farringdon, London EC1A 1HQ
Merrill Lynch Headline Facts:
1,050 natural stone facing, brick facing and terracotta facing panels, covering 8,650 square meters.
Contractor : Mace
Architect : Swanke Hayden Connell
Ludgate West, London
Ludgate West Headline Facts:
250 natural stone faced panels covering 2,700 square meters.
Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine
Architect : Skidmore Owings and Merrill
Urbanest, Canal Reach, Kings Cross, London N1C 4BD
Urbanest, Kings Cross Headline Facts:
1,000 reconstructed stone panels, covering 8,000 square meters.
Contractor : Mansells (Balfour Beatty)
Architect : Glenn Howells
The Finer Details :
This 26 storey student accommodation dominates the Kings Cross skyline. Techrete designed, built and installed, 1,000 precast panels covering 8,000 sq m of the facade. The lower levels, in a dark acid etched grey, are complemented by the Portland look-a-like, with two varying depths of a grit blasted finish to the panels at the upper levels.
The installation of the precast took only 34 weeks. The overall construction time was reduced as the installation of the panels (using a telescopic crawler crane) allowed an earlier site start date, whilst the reinforced concrete frame was still under construction. The downgrading of cranage due to the proximity of the Channel Tunnel Railway Line (CTRL) on the northern boundary of the site was an added constraint for the project. A monorail was required for the installation of the panels on the north elevation immediately adjacent to the boundary fence of the CTRL. This was also undertaken whilst the frame was being constructed above.
2 Pancras Square, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AG
2 Pancras Square Headline Facts:
427 reconstructed stone panels, covering 5,907 units.
Contractor : BAM
Architect : Allies & Morrison
The Finer Details :
This 11 storey, 130,000 sq ft office building was designed by Allies & Morrison. The design of the architectural precast cladding gives it an interesting rhythm. As the building rises, the precast mullion sections reduce in width but deepen in depth. This was achieved by specially designed adaptable moulds. The curtain walling / glazing was prefixed to the frame, above level 2, in advance of the cladding. A delicate installation operation ensued and the fixing system had to be adjusted to the depth of the reveals. In order to increase the speed of erection, reduce cost and improve general efficiency, some of the panels were 2 storey high “F” panels. This allowed for a rapid rate of enclosure to be achieved.
The immediate impression of this building is of mullions and spandrels but a keen eye can see upon closer inspection that the mullions actually decrease in width towards the top of the building and the windows at these levels are set back further to create deeper reveals and create greater solar shading. The key to the manufacture of this was mould adaptability. To ensure minimal staining from rainwater on the face of the building, the spandrels were designed to guide the water towards a vertical drainage system in the mullions, which keeps the water off the face of the building.
The concrete mix contains some Spanish Dolomite aggregate which adds a sparkle to the façade. The uppermost level has an unusual feature of a winter garden. This comprises of 3 storey high colonnades with free standing cantilever structures. This is a very uncommon feature and structural modelling was utilised in the design process. Due to the size of the panels, some challenges were encountered during the installation process. Prior to installation these panels (10m in length) had to be rotated with the use of the tower crane and then hoisted into position.
1 Pancras Square, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AG
1 Pancras Square, Kings Cross Headline Facts:
1,065 reconstructed stone and cast iron column panels covering 3,586 square meters.
Contractor : BAM
Architect : David Chipperfield
The Finer Details :
Techrete were engaged in 2012 to supply and erect the external façade of this 55,000 sq m office building. In addition to supplying the precast cladding panels, balconies and GRC soffits, Techrete were also engaged to design, coordinate and erect the cast iron columns, due to the proximity and interface with the cladding. These were manufactured by Hargreaves at their facility in Halifax, West Yorkshire and were then transported on specially adapted trailer frames and were subsequently painted and erected by Techrete.
The precast cladding and other features were to be erected outboard of the completed curtain wall cladding and this presented handling challenges and also required a bespoke fixing system. Due to its proximity to the rail lines, Techrete had to contend with a downgrading of all craneage by 25%. The windows were pre-installed and external access for this installation was via MEWPs. Above level 6 mast climbers were used.
The GRC soffits were up to 2.8m wide and specially adapted trailers, frames and lifting equipment were used to assist site handling of the panels in under-slung areas which were not accessible by the tower crane. Trial lifts were carried out at the factory, prior to delivery to site. A tower crane was used for the majority of the installation with the exception of the balconies which, due to their weight, were hoisted by a mobile crane. To ensure the uniformity of finish Techrete undertook to construct the paving and steps beneath the colonnade.
The reconstituted stone mix chosen was to complement the adjacent building B4 (Two Pancras Square) and a warm acid etched finish was used to achieve this intent.
Juxon House, 100 St. Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8BU
Juxon House Headline facts:
900 natural stone faced panels, covering 6,000 square meters.
Contractor : Lend Lease
Architect : Siddell Gibson Partner
Jermyn Street, London
Jermyn Street Headline Facts:
100 brick faced and natural stone faced panels, covering 5,510 square meters.
Contractor: John Sisk & Son
Architect : Frederick Gibberd Architects