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Hospitality and security are often at odds with each other. The challenge is to find the best compromise between Fort Knox and a warm welcome. Telecom company Liberty Global recently carried out a major renovation of their head office in Schiphol-Rijk – the Netherlands. As part of the project, the access security was considerably tightened, without affecting their brand’s desired welcoming appearance. Liberty Global is an international telecommunication and television company. It is also one of the largest internet service providers outside the USA. Liberty Global operates in 14 countries and has 35,000 employees. The head office is based in London and additionally there are central offices in Amsterdam and Denver. Consumer brands that belong to Liberty Global include VodafoneZiggo (50% Joint Venture with Vodafone), Virgin Media, UPC, Unitymedia and Telenet. In the high-quality business park - Schiphol-Rijk, Liberty Global have seven office buildings, which, collectively, employ a total of around 1600 people of 55 nationalities. "We did have manned security at the main entrance, but that solution did not always prevent people from entering our central hall unnoticed," says Simon Kuitert, who holds the position of Corporate Security Manager at Liberty Global. "That is why we introduced a single point of entry for the recent renovation."

Ferrero’s new global HQ gathers in one building with nearly 1,300 people, previously spread over five different offices. The building, with a total floor space of almost 30,000 m², opened in December 2019. The building is designed to evoke the atmosphere of an Italian square: a vast atrium is surrounded by two multi-storey office wings. Boon Edam was appointed to craft and install the golden revolving door, on behalf of facade builder Groven + Portal, who in turn worked for general contractor Felix Giorgetti. The colour of the revolving door makes a visual reference to the world-famous golden chocolate - Ferrero Rocher. The Casa Ferrero administrative building consists of two blocks built on a common basement. It was the combination of these plots, and the architectural skills, that resulted in what you see today: a building that is both impressive and elegant as well as being a pleasant and functional workplace for the employees of the food group. Ferrero’s colours are subtly incorporated into the classic facades, with bronze tones and a gilded effect over the windows as well as the entrance glass panels. This effect was achieved by applying a gold-coloured textile fabric to the laminated glass during the project’s construction. Behind the glass facade of the entrance, the most jaw-dropping area of Ferrero’s headquarters unfolds - a central atrium that connects the two blocks and is entirely covered by a glass roof. The spacious atrium is designed to function as a reception and meeting space. Horizontal circulation between the two blocks is facilitated by connecting walkways with a range of 20 meters. The vertical circulation occurs through panoramic glass elevators. The central atrium’s glass-roofed space is open to life within the company and encourages interaction between employees. This 11-storey building, including six upper levels (ground floor + 5 floors) and five lower levels, adapts perfectly to its urban surroundings. The office areas are spread over nine floors, taking advantage of maximum light for the interior space. Levels -3 to -5 include technical areas and parking spaces. Ferrero’s wish was for a functional and pleasant building for everyone who works there. We think they have achieved this in spades!

Mother Teresa Catholic College, WALocation – Baldivis, Perth, Western Australia      Installation Duration - 3 monthsInstallation Year – 2019                             Project Value - $15-20 millionSpecifying Architects – Parry and Rosenthal Architects TECHNICAL DETAILInstallation Type                                             NumberService penetrations                                     150Cluster penetrations                                      11Control joints                                                   700 LMConcrete slab pours                                       Grid pattern - numerousPerimeter                                                           500 LM  BACKGROUNDMother Teresa Catholic College is a progressive co- educational facility in the fast-growing suburb of Baldivis, 60 kilometres south of Perth in the City of Rockingham.The school opened in 2013 and in 2018/19 a Stage 3 Capital Development Program called for the construction of junior-secondary class-rooms and associated facilities, playing fields, courts, grounds, and extended parking. REQUIREMENTThe College’s ongoing plans for facility enhancements represents a significant investment and is worth protecting with the most effective pre-construction termite management system.The College caters for students from pre-kindergarten to Year 12. Chemical termite controls were not an option because of toxicity issues, making a clean and environmentally safe physical termite barrier the correct solution.APPROACHA typical WA site, the college’s location is predominantly flat, with sandy soils and substrates. In general, this type of environment poses a high risk for termite attack common to this region of Western Australia. SOLUTIONThe main challenge with the installation came from the rammed earth exterior walls. Their natural composition can chip easily, so nailing or sealing the termite barrier onto the wall was not practical.Our solution was to install Termimesh cold joint /paver trays to the perimeter of the concrete slab edge. These protected the concealed entry point between the slab and wall. They also engaged into the external pavement instead of against the rammed earth wall itself.BENEFITSThe Termimesh System which comprises of our 725 grade stainless steel mesh, Termiparge bonding cement and high grade stainless steel clamps not only met their strict requirement of no chemicals it will also continue to provide them with reassurance and peace of mind the comes with our market leading Pledge Guarantee. The Pledge Guarantee provides the client with a 10 year guarantee that requires no annual inspections during that initial period. The client then has the option to extend this on an ongoing basis by having an approved annual inspection.

The core function of a hospital is to attend to the physical, emotional, and mental needs of its patients. Also, the environment must be comfortable, clean, and serene to assist with a patient’s recovery. New Royal Adelaide Hospital (NRAH) is a perfect example of a state-of-the-art facility that provides a great service for city of Adelaide and surrounding regions.This 800-bed hospital is the largest hospital in South Australia. Sprawling across 25 acres, containing open green spaces throughout the precinct to assist with healing and relaxation, a commercial zone with underground car park and featuring a comprehensive range of clinical care to an estimated 85,000 inpatients and 400,000 outpatients each year.Many CS products were specified and installed in the development of the New Royal Adelaide Hospital. Our expansion joint covers were installed throughout the interior and exterior of the hospital, these expansion joint covers are critical for the development of the hospital to safely accommodate extreme building movement. An example would be the expansion joint SJHD, this seismic metal floor cover can be used in both interior and exterior settings and can provide 760mm of plus movement during a seismic event, and the expansion joint SGR is perfect for interior applications, it is hygienic and accommodates lightweight wheeled equipment, making it ideal for the NRAH. Our expansion joint covers offer a range of sizes, aesthetics, and performance variations. Each model perfectly suited for different environments.Our Acrovyn products were also installed throughout the NRAH. Acrovyn provides wall and door protection throughout the interior space of the building. In an environment like a hospital where there’s a lot of foot traffic and wheeled movement, it is imperative to have your walls protected from any potential impact. Our SCR-64N crash rail was installed throughout the hospital, mainly in the corridors to protect the walls from the bed carts. The HRB-10C, our handrail/crash rail combination is another product installed, which our ligature resistant featured component (a common feature used in behavioural health facilities) and the HRB-10C was supplied in both our Acrovyn Solid Colours and our Acrovyn Woodgrain as the handrail component. Throughout the hospital, the corners were also protected from damage by installing Acrovyn and Stainless-Steel corner guards. Both corner guards are a simple yet effective solution in protecting the vulnerable areas of the hospital. For hospital settings, Acrovyn is an environmentally friendly product, that is pleasing to the eye but also very functionable.The NRAH has been operating since 1841 and it was a privilege to have CS products featured throughout the hospital.