Speed figures in choice of Metsec infill walling

Speed of erection and flexibility were main reasons for Metsec's SFS site fix light gauge galvanised steel framing being specified as infill walling for curved buildings in South Shields.

Metsec supplied 4,850m2 of mainly 150mm thick SFS stud and head and base track sections to infill between a hot rolled steel frame on the complex project.

A team of up to ten fixers from Classic Excel installed the framing in just 18 weeks as part of an 80 week construction programme on the Horsley Hill site, creating an early dry envelope to allow the following trades to start work.

Supplied as cut to length sections, the stud and track was assembled on site using self-drilling screw fasteners.

Design flexibility was equally important.

The 7,117m2 learning campus features two circular, single storey buildings, laid out as a figure of eight around two circular courtyards, with a three storey central atrium providing views over the nearby North Sea.

The SFS infill structure also had to accommodate 260 windows and provide lateral support to the external cladding which is a combination of brick, Sto render and two different systems of high pressure laminate board.

The Horsley Hill Learning Campus is due to open in September 2006 and will provide a 420 place primary school, a 26 place nursery unit, a children's centre and accommodation for a special school.

Main contractor on the project was Sir Robert McAlpine.

Mark Short, architectural technologist at the architects Howarth Litchfield Partnership, said: "We specified Metsec because we'd successfully used their infill walling systems on a number of previous education projects.

It lends itself very well to quick erection and the earliest possible water tightness of the building which was critical on a coastal development in the north east".

He continued: "Horsley Hill was a large and very complex project and the Metsec system offered us a freedom of design that could not be achieved with many panel / off site systems".

David Jones, managing director of installers Classic Excel, agreed: "It was certainly a very complicated project from start to finish but it was undoubtedly successful.

The exposed site, the curved walls and the different gauges of SFS depending on the location, wind loading and number of windows all made our first Metsec installation a challenge and we appreciated their support".

SFS is increasingly being specified as infill walling on the schools, colleges and academies being built under the government's multi-billion investment programme to see every child in England being educated in 21st century buildings.

The main reasons SFS is replacing traditional brick or blockwork are speed of erection and dry envelope, flexibility and competitive costing.

Installation by a small team of trained fixers gives increased control on site and avoids the labour shortages in traditional building skills, whilst all-dry construction is less affected by the weather and brings a cleaner, less cluttered site.

The high strength, precision engineered steel components provide an accurate, flexible build which is capable of supporting virtually any type of external skin and any configuration of door and window openings".

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