Molesworth St

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.

5 Hanover Quay

5 Hanover Quay, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2

5 Hanover Quay Headline Facts:

484 reconstructed stone panels, covering 5,574 square meters.

Contractor : Bennett Construction

Architect : RKD Architects

The Finer Details :

5 Hanover Quay stands in an enviable position in the heart of the prestigious South Dublin Docklands, in an area dubbed “silicon docks”.  Situated at the impressive waterfront of the Grand Canal Basin and on its northern boundary, it boasts high-tech neighbours such as Google, Facebook and LinkedIn.  The aim of this building is to be an instrumental component of Dublin’s Dockland Regeneration.

RKD architects were appointed by APTIV Global Operations Ltd. to design this 161,300 sq ft, impressively, unique building.  One of the main elements of the design brief of this seven storey building, was a strong emphasis on quality.   One of the design elements decided on was to feature, high quality, reconstructed stone outer frame.  With concrete being such an integral part of the design, the façade had to demonstrate an iconic design element.  RKD worked closely with Techrete as they deemed Techrete to possess the specialist skill and experience of working with concrete to the highest quality.

With such a strong design element placed on the use of concrete, the mix chosen had to be mindful of the projects location, to ensure it was placed appropriately within the surrounding architecture of this dense urban docklands area.  The mix chosen was Techrete’s C190.  This light, timelessly sophisticated mix, when lightly acid etched post production, resembles natural limestone. Due to the nature of the columns a steel column mould was used to guarantee a blemish free finish to the three exposed faces. The architectural precast element consisted of reconstructed stone columns, beams, wall panels and mullions .

The installation of the façade was undertaken with two tower cranes was a typical installation operation one would expect from such a project.  Due to the nature of the columns which spanned across two floors the mullions were engineered so that they could be rotated on site without the use of any mechanical tilting equipment. The eastern elevation, which is opposite an adjacent site and over an underground car park raised significant challenges including the application of mastic. Techrete’s site team overcame these challenges using a spider MEWP, which allowed the application of mastic to areas that otherwise may have proven inaccessible.

Five Lamps

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

Two St. Peter’s Square

Two St. Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 3NQ

Two St. Peter’s Square Headline Facts:

546 reconstructed stone panels, covering 7,210 square meters.

Contractor : Laing O’Rourke

Architect : Simpson Haugh

Award : ‘Highly Commended’ – Concrete Society Awards 2018.

Judges comments :

“Visual appearance was a key driver in a very sensitive historic area of the city. The building does not look out of place at all, despite the time differences in construction. The decorative façades are very special and could only be done in precast concrete or an army of stone masons. Materials are standard but the complexity and quality of the finish is exceptional. The difficulty in forming these complex and varied units should not be underestimated. They are true three-dimensional concrete sculptures used as office window façades.


External column cladding was complex, multiply curved and feels appropriate for the location. The complexity, level of overall detail and quality is excellent. The joints of the units were lined up to show geometrical symmetry from vertical face to horizontal soffit. The judges were very impressed by this project. The decorative façades are superb and it would not be surprising if this level of decorative façade became more popular.

The Finer Details:

2 St. Peters Square, is a truly distinguished building with its 12 floors rising majestically over the surrounding streetscape. The gable end faces onto Princess St and the building is adorned with delicate filigree tracery panels. Drawing inspiration from the Lancaster Rose which adorns the county flag and from the Cotton Bud fountain, the tracery panels were designed to incorporate these elements whilst drawing on further inspiration from the Town Hall extension stair turrets. The tracery panels are both decorative and functional and offer natural shading from the full height glazing which is situated behind them.

This choice of mix with a polished finish gives the building a timeless elegance appropriate to its prime location amongst such buildings of historical importance. The panels on the main façades embraced the ethos of off-site construction. The windows were installed at Techrete production facility and were delivered and installed as one complete unit . This resulted in a reduction in programme time and in the amount of trades required on site. This project won ‘Highly Commended’ at the Concrete Society Awards 2018.

One St. Peter’s Square

One St. peter’s Square, Manchester M2 3AE

One St. Peter’s Square Headline Facts :

584 reconstructed stone panels, covering 6,800 square meters

Contractor : Carillion PLC

Architect : Glenn Howells Architects

Regent’s Place

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

Plough PLace, Holborn, London

Plough Place Headline Facts :

150 brick faced panels covering 1,500 square meters.

Contractor : Mowlem

Architect : Hamilton Associates

Paternoster Square

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

Merrill Lynch

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

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

2 Pancras Square (B4)

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 (B2)

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

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

Bow Bells House

1 Bread Street, London, EC4M 9BE

Bow Bells House Headline Facts:

120 natural stone faced panels, covering 1,280 square meters.

Contractor: Bovis Lend Lease

Architect : David Walker & Associates and HOK International

8 – 10 Moorgate

8-10 Moorgate, London EC2R 6DA

8-10 Moorgate Headline Facts :

42 Portland stone, brick faced, granite and reconstructed stone panels, covering 590 square meters.

Contractor : Allies & Morrison Architects

Architect : MACE