"coffee"

The Challenge Modern paving was required for the entrance plaza of a shopping destination High Street Mall has been transformed into Portadown’s leading retail and parking hub. The £6m regeneration project required a new shopping centre layout, enhanced parking, greater town centre access and a new pedestrianised central plaza with modern landscaping. Over 2000m2 of modern paving material was required for the entrance to the retail hub. Due to the expansive nature of the area, laying patterns would need to be used to ‘zone’ and break up areas into smaller pockets of space. The plaza needed to be designed in a way that people could use it as a place to gather and socialise. The client wanted the retail project to have a public realm feel to it that the community could enjoy. The Solution Tobermore’s Fusion block paving created a plaza with a striking, modern look.  Fusion block paving in Silver, Mid Grey, Sandstone and Noir was chosen for the 2000m2 plaza which created a striking, modern look. The entrance to the new 25,000ft2 Lidl store features a new pedestrianised square complete with seating and planters. Anchor tenants, Lidl, opted for 600m2 of Fusion paving to be laid outside their premises in keeping with the rest of the retail park. The client fully embraced the complimentary hard landscape proposal which was provided by Tobermore. Unique laying patterns were used to ‘zone’ and break up space in the expansively paved area. The paving design provided by Tobermore featured ‘pockets of space’ where coffee docks and pop-up markets could be situated. Fusion in Sandstone and a small proportion of Mid Grey was used to zone ‘public’ areas like the courtyard. The walkways feature Fusion in Silver and Mid Grey with a low percentage of Sandstone in the blend. These design choices were made to distinguish each area while still giving subtle reference to each other. Bands of Fusion in Noir were used as buffer strips to create a clear distinction of where people can walk into and out of the Lidl store.  The retail project certainly has a public realm feel to it as it is fully pedestrianised. The plaza was designed in a way that the local community could use it as a place to gather and socialise. There are seated areas with soft landscaping that creates a calming atmosphere for people to relax.  

The GemA full redesign and refurb took place at the ground floor of 111 Piccadilly in the heart of Manchester to accommodate a multifunctional co-working space within an independent coffee and lounge.IQ Projects have created a sculpture-like façade, using triangle structural glass panels in combination with our bespoke made, real oak veneered Technowood panels.Extraordinary design with extraordinary limitationsThey wanted to build a façade that is not only artistic and beautiful from the outside, but it is also practical and part of the interior design as well.All the glass panels are functioning as windows, letting light into the lounge and providing visibility to the outside.The complex structure had to use minimal sections too, so it can achieve the design. IQ has used steel instead of aluminium to build the structure, so it remains slim.The other challenge was the wooden elements. A specialist product was needed. Wooden panels that are strong, large and thin enough to be used.Panels that will stand the weather conditions, and requires minimal maintenance.We were able to supply these open grain oak veneered panels, that is rich in texture.Technowood eliminates the design limits of wooden elementsUsing real wood veneer has been popular for decades, the reason it gained popularity was to achieve better designs while saving on cost.Technowood has leveraged the benefits of this method and created patented solutions that ensures the veneers will last externally on all kinds of materials, such as Aluminium.With Technowood we can create the most unique pieces of real wood finished products. Some of the key benefits of Technowood products:It can be A2 fire ratedMuch lighter than solid timber or even composite materialsUp to 60% quicker on installationNo flitch beams nor unnecessary reinforcingNo visible fixingsWarranted for 20 yearsFSC and Environmental Product DeclarationAnd it looks like timber … because it is wrapped in real timber veneer. We do have in-house designers that offer solutions should you require. You can visit our office and showroom which is based in the Sky House design Centre, Amersham. Easily accessible by public transport (metropolitan line) or by car (M25 J18/M40 J2), please make sure you book an appointment.

Riding Floors Ltd, contractors with over 50 years’ experience creating stunning hospitality venue floors, have used UltraFloor Prime IT Multi-surface Primer and Level IT Bond to install a beautiful LVT floor at The Heist pub in Elland, West Yorkshire.BackgroundLocated in a former Lloyds Bank, hence the name, The Heist has been lovingly created by two local business owners who have transformed the building into a smart and atmospheric pub. Earlier this year, the bar and daytime coffee bar was transformed by experienced flooring contractors, Riding Floors Ltd.The ChallengeThe highly experienced team at Riding Floors Ltd. required rapid drying expert subfloor preparation materials that would provide a super smooth finish to install the LVT floor covering.The SolutionWith a reputation built on quality workmanship, Riding Floors Ltd knew that UltraFloor would be the ideal subfloor preparation materials to use on this project.To prepare the concrete substrate for the application of Level IT Bond, the contractors first applied a coat of Prime IT Multi-surface Primer.Formulated to promote adhesion to all UltraFloor smoothing underlayments, Prime IT Multi-surface Primer reduces pinholing, minimising the risk of costly failures. With a coverage rate of 200sqm at 3:1 dilution, Prime IT Multi-surface Primer is a must-have product for all flooring installation projects.Once fully dried, Level IT Bond was applied at a 3-8mm depth across the 180sqm bar area. Level IT Bond is a rapid curing, high performance, free flowing two-part smoothing underlayment. It has exceptional adhesion characteristics making it suitable for use over a wide variety of subfloors and substrates, including old adhesive residues.This versatile and moisture tolerant floor leveller has a set time of 90-120 minutes, can receive foot traffic in as little as 1.5 – 2 hours, and can receive bonded floor coverings after just 4 hours – ideal for projects where a quick turnaround is essential.With a coverage of approximately 5sqm at 3mm and an exceptional flow, it is unsurprising that Level IT Bond is a firm favourite for today’s flooring contractor.ResultsThanks to the rapid setting properties of Level IT Bond, the entire project was finished in one week. On completion, Danny Ambler, Contracts Manager at Riding Floors Ltd commented: “The customer loved the finished job. Level IT Bond is a great product, flows well and can be used on multiple substrates.”