Posts

The ultimate guide to ceiling and wall solutions is now available from leading UK manufacturer Armstrong.

The company’s new Main Line Brochure makes it even easier for architects and designers to specify ceiling and wall solutions thanks to a simplified but inspiring layout.

The new catalogue illustrates with stunning architectural photography and technical drawings the interior solutions that help to enhance comfort, save time, improve building efficiency and overall
performance, and create beautiful spaces for office, education, health, retail and transport applications.

Available in 14 languages to reflect the company’s recently launched global website, the brochure guides specifiers through the myriad of design solutions available, from floating ceilings and suspension systems (including perimeter detailing and accessories), through materials such as mineral, metal, mesh and wood, to wall and special solutions for acoustic, healthcare and highly humid applications.

A product selector by performance helps specifiers to select the right systems for acoustics, light reflectance, fire reaction, humidity and recycled content, with Armstrong’s pioneering recycling programmes and best in class Cradle to Cradle credentials featuring in their own section of infographics.

The new comprehensive catalogue also advises on installation and maintenance, including a cleaning matrix, and offers a technical acoustical glossary as well as a route to Armstrong’s BIM files available through the new global website and BIMobject portal.

It is available to download via https://www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en-gb/commercial-ceilings-walls/product-catalogue.html#catViewer.
More information is accessible via the Armstrong Ceilings website https://www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en-gb/.

A mix of metal and mineral ceiling and wall systems from Armstrong were specified for a new development at Royal Holloway, University of London, one of the top 30 universities in the UK .

The new BREEAM “Excellent” rated library and student services centre, named the Emily Wilding Davison Building after one of the university’s most famous alumni, is set in a new landscaped events square at the heart of the university’s campus in Egham, Surrey.

The 10,500m2 state-of-the-art building delivers inspirational library and study spaces, together with student facing services under one roof, putting enhanced student experience at the forefront.

Some 1,000m2 of RAL 9010 Armstrong custom Metal B-H 300 ceiling planks, Metal R-H 200 ceiling tiles and custom Metal W-H 1100 wall panels, as well as Armstrong’s Cradle to Cradle® certified Perla OP mineral tiles on a Prelude 15 TL grid were specified by Associated Architects for the £57 million new Davison Building at Royal Holloway.

The Metal B-H 300 perforated linear planks with acoustic fleece on a 300mm C-profile were used for the soffit of the triple-height atrium at the core of a series of wings and for three link bridges at first and second floor levels, while the Metal R-H 200 Hook-On tiles and Perla OP mineral tiles (which perform to sound absorption class A and are 85% light reflectant) on a Prelude 15 TL grid feature in offices.

Project architect Joe Belcher said “We were looking for a product that, in conjunction with the perforated timber veneer panelling, would help provide absorption to soften the acoustic of the atrium. As well as providing a neat and crisp aesthetic, we chose a self-finished material to avoid an unnecessary maintenance burden, especially relevant for tall spaces where maintenance access requires special equipment.

“We were especially pleased with the way the Armstrong product has been coordinated to align with other features such as the large feature rooflights. The 300mm plank module and edge trims enabled us to ensure the crisp junctions envisaged were achieved. For all these reasons, and the fact that Armstrong is a known and trusted name for our clients, it made sense to specify Armstrong.”

Throughout the building, a careful, consistent approach was taken to the internal character. Associated Architects developed a mature and sophisticated interior scheme to fit in with the university’s campus. This included visual concrete columns and soffits, extensive timber finishes and feature lighting.

Extensive areas of exposed visual quality light grey concrete to soffits, columns and stair core walls form part of the passive thermal strategy for the building, allowing generous floor-to-ceiling heights which give a sense of permanence and solidity.

Joe Belcher added “As a practice we regularly specify Armstrong products. As well as the more common modular suspended ceiling format which regularly appears in education, higher education and commercial office projects, we have used Armstrong products in previous laboratory and library projects.”

The Armstrong ceiling and wall systems were installed by specialist sub-contractor Rosguill Developments for main contractor Osborne. The Davison Building officially opened in October 2017.

More information is accessible via the Armstrong Ceilings website www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en-gb/ or the manufacturer’s app which is available from both the Apple store as well as the Google Play store, or by clicking on one of the links below with your mobile device www.armstrong.com/CeilingDownloads-Apple or www.armstrong.com/CeilingDownloads-Android.

The new President of the United States Donald Trump is expected to give the order to begin works on building his controversial wall between the US and Mexico today. Buildingspecifier investigates:

Mr Trump is visiting the Department of Homeland Security today, purportedly to order federal funds to be allocated towards the building of the giant wall in question. Yesterday he tweeted:

How big will it be?

Reports of how big the wall will actually be vary, but the length of the border itself is around 1,900 miles in total. Trump himself has said that the wall will cover roughly 1,000 miles, with natural obstacles protecting the remainder of the distance.

In comparison, the Berlin Wall was 96 miles long and the Great Wall of China is 13,000 miles long.

How much will it cost?

There is already some fencing in place between the borders, which cost approximately $2.4 billion to build. Reoports estimate that to building the rest of it would cost between $15-$25bn. THEN there’s maintenance, which is expected to run up to a whopping $700m per annum, according to deputy director of the US Immigration Policy Program at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, Marc Rosenblum.

After offending their neighboring country with racial slurs such as “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best… They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people”, Donald Trump added further salt to the wound by insisting that Mexico would foot the bill for the construction of his ludicrous wall.

Mexico have repeatedly insisted that they will do no such thing, forcing the President to find alternative methods of payment. Earlier this month, he announced that the wall would instead be paid for initially with a congressionally approved spending bill, which would eventually be reimbursed by Mexico. He has yet to explain how he intends to make that happen.