Trent Concrete’s GRC proves increasingly popular
Trent Concrete has found that GRC (glass reinforced concrete) is proving an increasingly popular construction material with both architectural and civil engineering specifiers, having won a series of recent contracts.
GRC’s qualities include its robustness whilst being lightweight and manoeuvrable, its high degree of mouldability, and its availability in a wide variety of textures and colours. These qualities have made it the material of choice for a wide range of recent projects:
Chelsea Flower Show
As announced previously, a GRC wall produced by Trent was incorporated in the RSPB/Severn Trent Water 'Bird Garden' at the recent Chelsea Flower Show. Placed in the garden to represent a contemporary urban setting, GRC was also selected by designers Courseworks for its environmental credentials.
Islington Flower Kiosk
Reconstructed stone GRC cladding has also been specified for a new flower kiosk, which is to be set under a 14.5m high Angel sculpture in a new public space forming part of the £60m mixed use N1 development in the London borough of Islington. Letts Wheeler Architecture and Design selected GRC as it provided a similar quality of finish to traditional reconstructed stone, with additional benefits in terms of ease of fixing. Trent is supplying a total of 148 square metres for the inner and outer rings of the circular kiosk.
Heathrow Express
The Heathrow Express platform at Terminal 4 is being extended to cope with additional demand, and Trent is supplying 43 square metres of deep acid etched, white reconstructed stone GRC cladding for the tunnel entrance. Given the restricted site, contractors Osborne Rail specified GRC for its lightweight and easy handling properties.
Sellafield Visitor Centre
GRC was also selected for the entrance portal to the recently opened Visitor Centre at Sellafield. Designers Casson Mann specified 19 square metres of rubbed white reconstructed stone GRC cladding panels for the entrance tunnel to the exhibition hall. GRC was specified as the designers wanted to use materials that were relevant to the nuclear industry (concrete, stainless steel and glass) in a new and innovative way. In addition, Trent is supplying 7 precast concrete benches, in matching reconstructed stone, to contractors C-Beck and Border Construction.
Manchester City Art Gallery
The same designers, Casson Mann, also specified rubbed white reconstructed stone GRC for a display plinth at the Manchester City Art Gallery. The gallery focuses on the city itself, and GRC enabled the designers to incorporate a genuine urban material in the gallery whilst keeping the plinth relatively light in weight. The plinth is designed to take 3D and 2D artwork, and measures 2.1m long, 1.2m deep and 0.88m high.
Notes
Trent Concrete is a specialist precast concrete contractor, producing high quality bespoke architectural cladding and structures.
Providing a complete solution from detailed design development through skills-based manufacture to on-site erection using its own teams, Trent Concrete partners with leading developers and specifiers to ensure that their projects gain maximum benefit from prefabrication.
Trent Concrete's precast solutions make a major contribution to improved quality, certainty, sustainability, safety and efficiency in the UK construction industry today.
The company has worked on some of the most prestigious projects of recent years, including The Scottish Office and the Toyota GB Plc and Thames Water headquarters buildings, and the quality of its work is consistently recognised in the form of industry awards. Trent Concrete was founded in 1917 and employs more than 200 people.
Editorial contact: David Walker
Tel: 0115 987 9747
Email: lmason@trentconcrete.co.uk
Trent Concrete Limited - e-mail: quality@trentconcrete.co.uk