The Croydon Council Urban Regeneration Vehicle (CCURV), is an innovative 50/50 joint venture partnership between John Laing and Croydon Council to regenerate a range of key sites across the London Borough of Croydon. The first deal of its kind, it is a 28-year partnership into which Croydon Council invests land and John Laing equity.
Since its formation in 2008, CCURV has successfully delivered two high profile schemes (Bernard Weatherill House and the Waddon Housing and Leisure Scheme) which have not only provided new and improved facilities for the Croydon community but also created employment and training opportunities for local people, skills development with schools and colleges and opportunities for local companies to enter the supply chain.
Bernard Weatherill House (BWH) is CCURV’s corner stone project. The development is a 240,000 ft² BREEAM excellent office building designed to house Croydon Council and a range of local service providers. Building contractor Sir Robert McAlpine began construction on site in March 2010 and appointed Italian facades specialist, Focchi Group to carry out the design and installation of the building envelope.
Working in conjunction with firestopping manufacturer Hilti (GB) Limited, Sharpfibre began consultation on a fire and smoke seal solution between the new glass and aluminium façade and the concrete structure. As glass, aluminium and concrete all have different movement properties, a solution was required that could accommodate the expected movement during the building’s design life and more importantly, any movement during a fire. Failure at this junction can allow fire that has broken out in one particular area or floor, to pass between levels, compromising the building’s fire compartmentation strategy.
In order to prevent the failure of the fire and smoke seal at this critical junction, Hilti CFS-SP-WB Speedspray Firestop system was adopted by the design team as the right solution. Hilti CFS-SP-WB Speedspray Firestop system is a spray or brush applied fire-rated mastic where maximum movement is required. With its water based formulation it is easy to apply with good adhesion even at low temperatures. As well as performing as a fire and smoke seal, the Hilti CFS-SP-WB Speedspray Firestop system can assist in maintaining the challenging and often very demanding acoustic properties of the building envelope.
During the period the works were carried out, Sharpfibre is proud to continue its strong support and ties with local communities, by helping and signing up to the client’s initiative target to support work placements for young people at local schools and colleges as well as employ 10% of the workforce through local recruitment.