The product answers all the aesthetic and practical demands of the contemporary designer. Brilliantly glossy and high-tech, it is a durable, solid acrylic, which offers the ideal creative medium for furniture design and more.

Alison’s design for shutters uses solid ParapanÆ to frame central translucent panels creating a linear and architectural look. The shutters can be used to wholly or to partially screen windows, give privacy or (fitted with locks) add to internal security.

A second collaboration are modular screens supplied in sections and linked together with a clever connecting perspex hinge. They are designed to extend in width and height to fit any specific interior space.

High gloss ParapanÆ, already a firm favourite with many of the UK’s leading kitchen designers, is now being specified by top designers for a variety of creative applications in other rooms in the house.

For example, Jasper Galloway of Konig Designs wanted to maximise the built in wardrobe space to full ceiling height to give a luxurious, contemporary bedroom additional depth. So he choose black shiny ParapanÆ, because it is available in sheets that can be cut to any size.

The shiny gloss acrylic is highly reflective making the room appear larger and picking up all the design details in the room. The walnut trim and interior is the perfect complement to the sleek surfaces adding warmth and framing the wardrobe to good effect.

More information: www.parapan.co.uk

The design inspiration for the project comes from the adjoining nature reserve. The architects started with an image of the reserve and then reproduced it on a giant scale as the new Science Park. The result gives a natural beauty to the development which has unmistakable organic shapes which manifests itself as buildings in the form of giant bullrushes along with a boardwalk in the shape of 33 giant lily pads.

As Christophe Egret, principal architect at Studio Egret West, explains: “The beauty of the natural surroundings inspired us to use enlarged nature as the design inspiration for this project. The Lily pad boardwalk is simply a giant representation of the water lilys that grow in the adjoining nature reserve.”

Almost 80,000 linear metres of JB Antislip PlusÆ inserts were used on the DecksureTM structural timber decking to create the non-slip Lily Pad boardwalk. Fitted by L&L Installations, each deckboard features two antislip inserts, which is sufficient to create a long lasting and safe surface.

The decking, which would be equally at home in the residential area has been independently tested by the Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL) using a Stanley Pendulum Test (the operation and calibration of which is described in BS7976:2002 parts 1-3). The Pendulum Test Values (PTVs) achieved during the testing significantly exceeded the minimum required classification for ‘low potential for slip’.

Under the UKSRG guidelines, a surface is required to have a PTV of 36 or above to be considered to have a ‘low potential for slip.’ Two inserts, which were used on the Lily Pad project, will achieve an average PTV of 63 or above, even when wet.

More information: www.johnbrash.co.uk

View of construction on the London Thames

Scaffolding eliminated from construction sequence
By John Pritchard

Set within 10 acres of landscaped parkland on one of the most sought after stretches of the River Thames between the fashionable neighbourhoods of Chelsea and Fulham, St George plc’s award winning Imperial Wharf development provides a range of two, three and four bedroom apartments and penthouses with spectacular panoramas of the river itself and beyond. Its tree-lined boulevard also offers its residents and visitors a selection of stylish shops, bars and haute-cuisine restaurants to enjoy.

Designed by Broadway Maylan Architects, the Imperial Wharf development is being constructed in a number of phases. Significantly, its major buildings feature is the use of architectural precast concrete with reconstructed stone finished and terracotta tile faced wall panels.

When the current phase of the development is completed shortly, The Marble Mosaic Co Ltd’s run of six precast cladding work packages will have included the casting of more than 6000 units, totalling close to £7m in value. The first phase was completed for Bilfinger Berger Ltd on a supply-and-fix basis in 2005. The next three phases were completed for Carillion Plc during 2005 and 2006 and not only included the detail design, manufacture, delivery and fixing of the wall cladding panels but also the supply of precast concrete balcony units.

The precast cladding panels for the fifth and sixth phases have been and are currently being provided respectively on a “detail design and supply only” basis for J Reddington Ltd and its main contracting division Midgard Ltd.

The majority of the precast cladding panels for each phase are storey-height units that span between the floor slabs, thereby avoiding the need for secondary backing structure for their vertical support or lateral restraint. The other cladding panel types include spandrel units that face the edges of the structural floor slabs and insitu balconies. All the panels were designed to avoid the need for an external scaffold for their safe and efficient installation.

The reconstructed stone finished precast cladding panels are typically 150mm thick and match the appearance of Portland and Bath limestones. Their colours have been achieved without the need for any pigmentation by using special mixes of either Derbyshire limestone aggregate or Cotswold gravel with white cement. Their seen surfaces have been lightly textured using a controlled technique developed by The Marble Mosaic Co Ltd to achieve a notably consistent overall appearance.

The terracotta panels have been cast with red Gima tiles, supplied by NBS in the form of 25mm thick facings cut from standard tiles, and a 150mm concrete backing. All the precast cladding panels have been manufactured with carbon steel reinforcement and fixed using stainless steel fittings.

The joints between the cladding panels have been pointed with a two-stage silicone-based sealant. Incidentally it should also be noted that, with the panels being cast using grade 45 concrete mixes, they provide a robust and durable cladding material that is inherently non-combustible and fire resistant with valuable sound-controlling properties.

If alternatively specified, they could have been supplied with insulation either as an internal core or as a backing to enhance their thermal performance. The required “U” value through the overall wall section has however been achieved using an independent insulated dry-lining system on this occasion.

More information: www.marble-mosaic.co.uk