Arcelor Construction UK - Arcelor's Promfire panels give Wembley
a face-lift
Promfire composite panels from Arcelor Construction
UK (formerly Haironville TAC) were specified by
architects Corstorphine & Wright for their fire
resistance and face-lifting capabilities at Wembley
Retail Park.
Situated directly opposite the new national stadium, the
retail park has been extensively re-modelled by
developer The Junction Limited Partnership as a
£10million part of a wider masterplan to regenerate this
part of north London.
The project involved the comprehensive reconstruction of
the existing buildings on the site and a complete
re-imaging of the whole development. Roof levels were
raised and each of the eight buildings re-clad in an
unusual format with a total 1,500m² of Promfire panels.
The scheme also included the construction of a new
two-storey office block as an independent feature.
Where previously there were light industrial sheds,
built in the 1980s, there are now new retail warehouses
for tenants such as MFI, Allied Carpets and Halfords, a
central parking area for more than 450 cars, office
units and a restaurant plus a customer/staff amenity
building and associated landscaping.
Corstorphine & Wright chose Arcelor’s Promfire panels,
which are available in a choice of profiles and finishes
and come with a 30 year performance guarantee, to
transform the appearance of the existing buildings and
enhance their fire performance in line with the latest
regulations.
“Promfire was the ideal solution here. I have been using
the product for the past six or seven years and I like
the quality of the finish. Other products are available
but Promfire offers the best warranty and a better range
of colours,” said Steve Barnett, director of
Corstorphine & Wright.
Made from Euroclass A1 rock mineral wool insulation
sandwiched between two coated steel sheets, Promfire is
rated Class 1 surface spread of flame to BS476: Part
7:1987 and Building Regulations Class 0.
“The insurance industry is moving away from the use of
PIR foam composite products and Promfire is the next
step up. It’s made with mineral wool insulation which
simply doesn’t burn. Promfire is the top of the range,”
he added.
Last year, Promfire completed a battery of tests for the
Loss Prevention Certification Bureau and was awarded
LPCB certification to LPS1208. This certification
provides additional comfort to product specifiers in
search of a cladding solution with a guaranteed two-hour
fire resistance.
The panels chosen for Wembley Retail Park are
1,000mm-wide, 120mm-thick in smooth flat external white
Hairexcel Granite. The nine-metre long panels were
secret-fixed to the existing cladding rails, vertically
rather than the usual horizontally.
Main contractor McLaren Construction stripped the
buildings back to their steel frames, leaving the
original cladding rails in place. The 11-metre high
facades were then installed with brickwork up to two
metres topped by the Promfire panels running vertically
to eaves level.
This cladding configuration was adopted for both
practical and aesthetic reasons and emerged from
collaborative working between the architect, main
contractor and sub-contractor at an early stage in the
design process.
Francis Keenan, commercial director with cladding
sub-contractor FK Roofing Services, explained:
“Installing the panels in this way reduced manual
handling and reduced the number of ‘top-hat’ joints
required. It also gave a better finish, looking clean
and pleasing to the eye.”
Email:
tracy@tlcpr.co.uk
Arundel Jones Associates Ltd
Hill Farm, Linton Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME17 4AL
Tel : 01622 745333
news@buildingdesign.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales No. 07334149
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