Bison Products Chosen for Specialist Built Environment Academy
Hollowcore floors and stairs from Bison Manufacturing Ltd were selected for use on the latest phase of the Wren Academy school in Finchley, London. The contract saw over £160,000 worth of Bison Manufacturing precast concrete products used on the new North Block being built at the shool, which caters for 11-18 year old students and specialises in design, technology and the built environment.
Bison Manufacturing’s input began with advice at the design stage of the North Block building. This resulted in the cores of the Bison Manufacturing floor and stair units being linked and reinforced so that the resulting design enabled the North Block to meed the disporportionate collapse requirements of the Building Regulations Part A.
Bison Manufacturing had already supplied precast concrete products for the school’s South Block building before securing this second, larger order. As the design of the new North Block features large areas of exposed soffits, the Bison Manufacturing floor and stair units were required to provide a very high quality of finish as these areas would be visible in the completed building The Bison Manufacturing products were also manufactured complete with integral lifting hooks that enalbled easy on-site handling and minimised the possibility of handling damage during construction.
“The good working relationship which our contracts team had developed with Galliford Try certainly helped with this latest order,” comments Bison Manufacturing spokesman Rob Jones. “We demonstrated that Bison Manufacturing could supply exactly the products they required and also meet the levels of quality, delivery and technical support they demanded. We used our experience of the South Block project to develop our approach and deliver an even better solution for this new phase.
“The new North Block has been designed as an innovative and environmentally sustainable building, so it’s appropriate that Bison Manufacturing products were selected,” adds Rob. “The thermal characteristics of our precast products allow them to be used for active Fabric Energy Storage purposes. This can cut the need for air conditioning and heating in the final building and help reduce post-construction carbon emissions by up to 50%.”