"access equipment and safety systems"

7000m² of SAS310 helped Qantas Airways overcome acoustic challenges, controling reverberation time and meeting a very high acoustic performance target. Qantas Airways Limited, nicknamed ‘The Flying Kangaroo’, is Australia’s largest airline. The new headquarters is the largest property project undertaken by Qantas Airways in the last 10 years. The project aims to rejuvenate the existing campus, consolidating and upgrading four existing office buildings and joining them together with an interconnecting hub. Selected areas of the existing building floorplate have been extended into the new atrium space creating balconies and office pods. These improved physical and visual connections aim to encourage interaction and engagement between workers. With a brief for high acoustic performance, SAS International were an obvious choice for Hassell architects, due to our vast portfolio of high acoustic rated metal ceiling tiles. SAS provided 7000m² of SAS310. The acoustic challenge was to control the reverberation time in a large volume space accommodating a PA system and a very high acoustic performance target. The reverberation time was significantly reduced with the addition of absorptive material and purposed designed acoustic ceiling panels. Qantas Headquarters was constructed with longevity in mind so the durability of the tiles was key, an advantage of using metal. The finish completely meets the performance demands, is extremely functional and cost effective, an A Grade corporate campus that incorporates the latest developments in sustainability and energy efficiency.

Warwick Hotel Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, PA, is quite satisfied with the functioning and cost savings of their Boon Edam Tournex revolving door. The Tournex is an example of a classic automatic revolving door and is designed to handle high capacity applications. The historic building housing the Warwick Hotel Rittenhouse Square originally had a manual revolving door flush with the building’s facade. Somewhere along the way, it was decided to remove the relatively smaller gauge revolving door and replace the entrance with a double set of sliding doors. “Our HVAC system was designed for a revolving door entrance,” said Ray Hewitt, the hotel’s Director of Engineering, “we wanted to put a revolving door back in to address the negative pressure we were experiencing in the lobby.” That negative pressure was pulling in cold air during the winter months, and cooled, conditioned air was escaping out the double doors in the summer. During a complete lobby renovation project a few years back, designers worked to return to a revolving door lobby entrance. Because the Warwick is in a historic building, they could not change the facade of the building, so they pushed the entire entrance into the lobby itself. The architects and the designer chose a 12’ diameter Boon Edam Tournex automatic revolving door, with three door wings and a highly polished (mirror) stainless steel finish. The Boon Edam door is enclosed in a stylish glass cube, accented with purple neon lighting. Now, those entering the hotel first pass through a double set of sliding doors at the building envelope, leading to the revolving door. Swing doors are also available on either side of the revolving door to enter the lobby itself. The effect of the sliding doors and the revolving door in a cube is to virtually eliminate air flow from outside in, and vice versa. The Warwick has 301 hotel rooms and 106 permanent residents. On any given day, between guests, residents, staff, and visitors, up to 1000 people are passing through the entrance. Since the installation of the new entrance, the effect has been night and day—guest and visitors utilise the lobby space longer and in greater numbers. A big community table is usually filled all day long and the lobby is accented with attractive fireplaces. The hotel lobby also offers two full service food and beverage outlets (Bluestone Lane & Prime Rib Steakhouse), with a third to be announced sometime this year. In addition to a now grand sense of arrival and more useable, comfortable space, the new entrance is also paying dividends on energy savings. “With the old entrance, our HVAC was running constantly, it could not keep up. Now, the unit can shut down periodically; that’s good for the health of the system, and we’re seeing substantial savings on energy bills,” said Hewitt. The Boon Edam revolving door has an important feature for installations like a hotel or large office building—in the event of an emergency, the doors stop and the wings can be “book folded” to create wide open ingress and egress. The hotel has a maintenance contract with Advanced Door, but since installation the Boon Edam revolving door has been virtually trouble free.

SAS International bespoke metalwork comprising of a striking waveform shaped ceiling was designed by architects Arup Associates to feature in the construction of Ropemaker Place, London EC2 for British Land. Simon Anson, architect at Arup Associates comments; “The purpose of the ceiling was to provide the 10.5m tall entrance foyer with an acoustic performance, and create a lighting source providing both uplight and downlight. The illuminated ceiling provides the entrance foyer with visual impact from views of City Point Plaza, Ropemaker Street and The City.” Simon Anson continues, “The appearance of the ceiling is that of a series of illuminated vaulted waves flowing into the interior, the volume of the space perceptually expanded by the uplit waveform surfaces. The vaulted ceiling with its flowing contours provides a visually stunning focal point as well as a practical solution to the acoustic requirements of the interior of the building.” Specialist bespoke wave ceilings were installed in the atrium, main reception area, lift lobbies and main external canopy. The waveform panel, although elegant in appearance, had to have the required strength to support the light fitting. The extra weight posed a significant design challenge of how to integrate and support the light fitting into the waveform panel. The complex design required all fixings to be concealed, as a large proportion of the face and rear of the waveform tiles are visible. In the design development and installation of the system, Arup Associates worked closely with SAS International and the specified lighting manufacturer, Zumtobel, to ensure the panels integrated seamlessly with the luminaires to produce the optimum installation.

SAS International's bespoke waveform acoustic baffle ceiling solution was used as a feature in the new Skype Headquarters. An SAS International bespoke waveform acoustic baffle ceiling solution incorporating luminaires by Zumtobel, was specified by Walker and Martin Architects (WAM) for the new Skype Headquarters. Situated in Luxembourg, the new building forms part of the regeneration works to an existing brewery located in Clausen, the old quarter of Luxembourg City. The challenge set by the client was to provide an interior that would inspire innovation in the daily workplace of Skype employees whilst retaining an element of corporate sophistication. The solution helped create a dynamic and flexible office space. In the design, development and installation of the system, WAM worked closely with SAS International, to ensure the baffles integrated seamlessly with the luminaires to suit the ceiling and building shape. WAM designed the acoustic baffle ceiling solution with technical help from SAS International, then developed the layout to achieve the ‘wave’ and ‘fluid’ affect. Stuart Walker adds, “The ceiling design gives an uplifting ambience to the space, people ‘look up’ when they enter and immediately know they are in a space that challenges office convention with innovative thinking.” Another consideration that WAM took when selecting materials for the fit out process was the impact on the environment. SAS International metal ceilings have a lifespan in excess of 25 years with only very basic maintenance. These products withhold a residual value and can be recycled at end of life into new virgin steel or aluminium without any loss of properties; this ensures products do not end up in costly and unsustainable landfill sites.

One New Change features SAS International bespoke metal ceiling panels with an expanded metal mesh, finished in silver, red and black. The ground-breaking, bold and perceptive £300 million One New Change mixed-use development project won the MIPIM AR Future Project Award 2010. Now complete, the building has become known as the ‘Stealth Bomber’ after the radar-proof combat plane that inspired its faceted form and has also won a RIBA 2011 Award for London and LDSA Building Excellence Award. The design incorporates pedestrian arcades converging at the core of the building, reinstating a historic north-south pedestrian route and allowing new panoramas of London’s landmark St Paul’s Cathedral. SAS International supplied the ceiling solution for the retail corridors of the development with a concealed suspension system, working closely with the architects to create a result where no visible fixings can be seen through the ceiling plane. To complement this, bespoke metal ceiling panels were produced with an expanded metal mesh, finished in silver, red and black. A challenging material to work with, to ensure the mesh held a uniform shape and corners for the panels could be formed accurately, SAS International’s solution was to create a ‘picture frame’ behind each panel. This also helped to provide support for the concealed attachment bolts. Design challenges at One New Change included the building grid size and shape (it was termed the most difficult site in Europe), the complex geometry of the structure (including some tight ceiling to structural beam heights), and a shared fire strategy between retail and office storeys. Requirements to achieve an environmentally-friendly building, complying with Part L and BREEAM ratings, were also critical and the design uses a materials palette of limestone, metal, mirror and a new method of fritted glass on the exterior to help shield the interior from glare.

About the ProjectSea Temple is unrivalled as THE 5-star resort in Port Douglas. The beautifully manicured grounds, stylish accommodation, world class facilities and spectacular 3000m2 central swimming lagoon, places Sea Temple in another league when compared with other resorts in the region. Sea Temple Luxury Apartments is a collection of 6 stunning 2 and 3 bedroom Swim-out and Penthouse apartments within the Pullman Sea Temple resort complex. The apartments have been selected for their ideal positions within the resort, relaxed atmosphere and unparralled quality facilities set the scene for pure enjoyment.The ChallengeWhen you are working with one of the most prestigious resorts in Port Douglas where the highest quality of facilities, services and experiences are expected, you need to provide unparalled results. Also when your guests are paying a premium price, your solution needs to be low odour so as to not disrupt the experience of paying guests whilst the work is being completed. The harsh North Queensland conditions demand a high quality product strong enough to withstand all types of weathering. So when Sea Temple Apartments discovered a problem with their waterproofing a high quality but aesthetically pleasing solution was the only option.Tremco SolutionWith the contractor previously using liquid membranes, a more robust and durable solution was needed which would also provide the warranty, demanded of a high quality building such as Sea Temple.Having previously completed many other successful projects with Tremco Systems, the applicator had trust in the Tremco solution, and a dual layer of Tremproof Torch 3000 seemed the logical choice for this end high development. The low VOC and odour levels of Tremproof Torch 3000 helped seal the deal in the built up 5 star accommodation to reduce neighbourhood discomfort.

About the ProjectThis Child Health and Learning facility in Manly, deliversspecialist child healthcare for up to 15,000 families a yearfrom rural, regional and remote New South Wales andbeyond.The new facility will integrate a state-of-the-art child schooland health service that will accommodate regional childrenand families nationwide.This six storey building includes school classrooms,consultant and observation rooms, a paediatric oral healthunit with a dental and orthodontics room, ophthalmology,occupational therapy, sensory rooms and a telecare centre.ChallengeOver 80% of construction litigation and defect claims are a result of water ingress, of that 80%, almost 30% of those are below grade issues. (City Futures Research Centre UNSW).The two biggest waterproofing challenges for this build were:1) Below Grade - Non structural Blinding Slab, 4 metres below sea level and less then 50 metres from Manly Beach. This build had decanters pumping over 1.3 million litres of water per day awayfrom the site during the construction phase.2) The creation of a waterproofing solution which would not fail if the membrane was penetrated, be it in the pre or post construction phase.Due to the proximity to the beach and the build having a raft slab in the basement, a standard cookie cutter below-grade waterproofing solution was not an option for this build.Tremco SolutionTremco were asked to provide a solution for this complex build. The biggest and most demanding waterproofing areas within the build that needed attention were:1) Below Grade - 50 metres from the ocean and 4 metres below sea level, we needed a reliable waterproofing solution, that would also be robust enough to withstand any punishment tradesdelivered post installation, we recommended and used Paraseal SW (Saltwater). Paraseal SW is a multi-layer sheet membrane waterproofing system consisting of a self-sealing, expandable layer of bentonite laminated to an impermeable, high density polyethylene (HDPE).2) iAuditor reporting- iAuditor is an onsite quality assurance program Tremco conduct for the builder and applicator to ensure our products are being installed correctly and to specification. This gives the builder the confidence that there will be no waterproofing defects within the build.Overall, both the builder and developer were happy with the end result, which provided the warranty and quality required of such a development.