Product category:
Timber Buildings and Timber Products
News Release from: Kingspan Off-Site | Subject: Off-site building envelope solution
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 20 August 2007
Prater off-site building envelope
solution for PFI
Taylor Woodrow Construction appointed Prater as a partner to provide envelope solutions for large scale projects, including installing off-site manufactured components.
St Helens Hospital, operated by St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, is currently being redeveloped with the construction of a new Diagnostics and Treatment Centre This prestigious 25,000 sq m project features a total envelope solution provided and installed by Prater in conjunction with a number of their supply partners including Kingspan Off-Site
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 2 Apr 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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As befitting construction of a state-of-the-art hospital facility, the design brief from architects Capita Percy Thomas was a challenging one.
To address this, main contractor Taylor Woodrow Construction appointed Prater as a partner due to their considerable experience in providing envelope solutions for large scale projects, including installing off-site manufactured components.
To enable the building envelope to be closed off as quickly and efficiently as possible - thus allowing early access for other trades to commence internal works - Prater specified a Kingframe Architectural Facade System from Kingspan Off-Site.
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The Kingframe 'through-wall' system has proven itself in a number of high-profile construction projects, achieving significant time and cost savings compared to conventional construction methods such as brick and block.
The facade panels for St Helens Hospital - incorporating a steel frame and cement particle board - were manufactured at Kingspan's facility in Sherburn, North Yorkshire.
They were then loaded into containers and delivered to site.
Utilising a mechanical hoist, each facade panel was fixed from inside the building and took Prater's specialist off-site installation team just minutes to fit and fix.
The empty containers were then returned to Kingspan.
This extremely efficient process eliminated the need for waste disposal, onsite product storage and scaffolding.
An additional and important benefit of specifying off-site through-wall solutions such as Kingframe is the health and safety advantage of fewer men working at height for any length of time.
Off-site manufacturing also significantly reduces the margin for human error in the structure due to the use of dimensionally accurate factory-produced panels - particularly important in the construction of a high-specification healthcare facility.
It also eliminates the need for a fixed scaffold and negates the need for structural steelwork that would traditionally support the blockwork.
Richard Unwin, Operations Director of Prater, commented: "St Helens Hospital is a challenging project for us and our supply partners".
"Our off - site experience gained from working on a number of major projects is obviously a real benefit and working closely with Kingspan Off-Site ensured we were able to construct the external facade of the building accurately and quickly without any problems".
The construction phase of St Helens Hospital is expected to be completed by November 2008.
The exterior will be finished in an attractive combination of brick, render, cedar cladding, terracotta and aluminium rainscreen, the focal point being a large glazed atrium entrance constructed by Prater, utilising a Schuco curtain walling system.
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