"International Powered Access Federation"

Falco is pleased to announce another installation of the UK’s only automated cycle wheeling ramp, for 20 Ropemaker Street, located within the heart of the city. The new automatic cycle wheel ramps have been installed by Falco as part of a £240m state-of-the-art development bringing a new commercial building of more than 450,000ft² of Grade A, BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ office space and premium retail provision to a prominent corner site just north of Moorgate Station.The automated bike wheeling ramp known as the ‘VeloComfort®’ is a huge innovation and Falco is once again delighted to bring what is standard Dutch cycling technology to the UK market. These wheeling ramps provide cyclists with the next generation of accessibility and are designed to assist users with manoeuvring their bikes up and down stairs with virtually no effort.This is particularly important where a bike is either heavy or perhaps has a basket or panniers and makes carrying a bike up stairs or even using a traditional wheeling ramp difficult. The VeloComfort® range comes in two patented innovative designs, one for manoeuvring bicycles up the stairs - VeloComfortUp®, and one for down - VeloComfortDown®!Falco supplied and installed 22m of both VeloComfortUp® and VeloComfortDown® designed to meet the client’s exact stair dimensions.The VeloComfortUp® is essentially a mini ‘travellator’ or conveyor belt which starts once the integrated sensors detect a bike and automatically stops if the conveyor is completely free of bicycles. The high quality conveyor (kevlar-based) belt runs in a durable, low-maintenance aluminium double-sided channel and is powered by an electric motor. The entrance and exit of the conveyor are aesthetically, functionally and safely integrated into the system, with the electric motor positioned on the side of the conveyor belt.The VeloComfortDown® is a simple and effective non-electric cycle / bike wheeling ramp designed with a gutter brush to reduce the speed of the bike. The gutter brush is made from a high quality, durable and low-maintenance aluminium double-sided channel, which is equipped with brush strip on both sides. The friction of the gutter brush ensures that the bike slows down, allowing the user to determine his/her own pace during the descent.Falco provide complete supply and installation of the VeloComfort® cycle wheeling ramps as well as free rendering graphics to help the client to visualise the scheme, free UK-wide site surveys and free CAD design and schematics.A video demonstrating the VeloComfort® Bike Wheeling Ramp can be viewed by clicking here.For more information about the innovative VeloComfort® Bike Wheeling Ramp, please contact our helpful sales team on 01538 380080.

Car lift enables new parking garage for MIPIM award winner in AmsterdamSpace saving PEGASOS lift provides access to new basement parking levelThe PEGASOS car lift was delivered in 2019 by Lödige Industries to DCV Bouw B.V. in Amsterdam, Netherlands. About the building and projectThe Diamond Exchange, Diamantbeurs in Dutch, was built in 1911 to a design by Gerit van Arkel as the centre of the Amsterdam diamond trading industry. It housed a large trading hall on the first floor and offices above that. In 2015, the building was purchased by Sijthoff Media Groep and Zadelhoff Beheer and underwent a significant renovation and transformation based on designs by Zwarts & Jansma Architects and Heyligers design + projects. The new design aimed at three objectives: to restore the original qualities of the Diamantbeurs in its full glory, to adapt the interior for use as a modern, flexible office environment and to build a contemporary addition open to the public. The most prominent new addition to the 2020 MIPIM Award winner, is the elongated dome of steel and glass on the roof, called High Light. The curved glass structure incorporates solar cells, which generate solar energy as well as shade. The shape of the structure, which houses a public space, references the property's past as the center of the diamond trade. Today, under its new name, ‘Capital C’, it serves as a centre for the creative industry and houses conference and event venues as well as co-working spaces for various companies. Offering enough parking spaces by enabling access to parking garage via car liftParking spaces around the building located in the centre of Amsterdam are rare and costly. As the Capital C building offers co-working spaces it benefits from the excellent public transport connections in the area. Nevertheless, it needed to find a way to offer parking spaces for cars and bicycles. To solve this a new basement was added to the building to create the space needed for parking. The inclusion of a ramp for access, however, would have severely limited the number of spaces on offer.The PEGASOS © car lift is the most space saving car lift on the market today. It requires neither pit nor engine room and thanks to its extremely slender shaft geometry it offers an access solution even in very restricted space situations.Today tenants of the building simply drive up to the lift, press their remote and enter the lift for a quick delivery to the garage – a fact that is very popular with the users of the co-working spaces in the building. About the customerDCV BOUW B.V. was founded in 2006. Since then, it has grown into an important player in the construction sector of the Netherlands.DCV BOUW carries out a wide range of projects for its clients. Recents projects include the renovation of ‘De Oliphant’ and newbuild of the Orato Offices in Amsterdam, as well as the Aon building renovation in Rotterdam.Challenges of parking at DiamantbeursThe Capital C building was renovated and now houses a new creative centre offering co-working spaces and event venues, leading to increased parking requirementsParking spaces are limited in the city centre of Amsterdam,The building had an underground level for parking cars and bicycles but no space for a conventional access ramp. Given the integration into the existing building, there was limited headroom available above any potential lift.The customer required access not only for cars, but also for bicycles and egress for building management functions such as waste removal.Enabling access to parking garageThe Lödige PEGASOS© car lift installed serves as a space efficient and convenient entry to the underground parking garage.Cars are being transported vertically to the parking garage, without the need for a conventional access rampThe design of the PEGASOS car lift needs no pit and minimal headroom, facilitating integration into the existing buildingCars and bicycles can be comfortably transported to the underground parking garage. The lift also enables easy waste removal and goods delivery.

Project:Downtown Doha is a multimillion-pound scheme to regenerate the Downtown Doha district. Surespan supplied a wide number of electrically operated glazed roof hatches along with solid top roof access hatches. Product:Sizes included a 3310 x 1120, 4320 x 1110, 3245 x 760, 1098 x 4330mm and the biggest size came in at 4462 x 6654mm. All the hatches were provided powder coated using the Interpon D series for enhanced durability. In addition, a variety of other products including wall & ceiling access panels were manufactured from Stainless steel. The largest panel was 2700 x 1600mm manufactured as a double door.

Meadowside is a small development of 23 eco-lodge holiday homes in St. Columb, Cornwall. The lodges are in the beautiful North Cornwall countryside. The area is teeming with wildlife, including a large variety of birds, rabbits, foxes and deer. The lodges are available all year round and benefit from unspoilt views of the surrounding hills and valleys. We supplied Gripsure Premier non-slip decking for a number of lodges. It was also used to deck the outdoor space surrounding the lodges, including steps, access ramps and hot tub areas, ensuring safe access for residents over the seasons. Income from the two- and three-bedroom holiday homes supports the neighbouring Cornish Birds of Prey Centre and Animal Park.

Dalston Lane comprises 121 apartments over ten storeys, set around two courtyards housing shops and restaurants. The project has received international attention for its pioneering architecture, becoming an exemplar project for high quality, high density, inner city housing, and uses VELFAC glazing to help deliver healthy, comfortable and attractive spaces in which to live or work. Photos: Daniel Shearing

The Caudwell International Children’s Centre (CICC) is an award-winning £18 million development located at Keele University Science & Innovation Park, and the UK’s first independent facility dedicated to the diagnosis, support and research of autism. The awards won by the project include; RICS® Project of the Year 2019, Design in Mental Health Project of the Year 2019 and Healthcare Estates® IHEEM Awards Project of the Year 2019.

Devon House underwent a full refurbishment internally and externally that included a brand-new reception space and terrace with prime views over River Thames. The new reception area encapsulates that of a social space almost mimicking a coffee house with a relaxed atmosphere. A refurbishment by Blackstone, demanded distinctive design features including warm brown with gold tones standing out in this project which are symbolic to Blackstone’s previous refurbishments.

The Award-winning housing developers, Autograph Homes, required a sustainable paving source and wanted to create a generous size resin bound access road that provides a relaxed, natural feel to welcome residents to their homes.

Electric loft ladders offer a superb solution for easy access to loft spaces. Especially for rooms with a very high ceiling, such as this property in Edinburgh.The challenge…Premier Loft Ladders received an enquiry from Magnus in Edinburgh who discovered the loft access specialist through an internet search. Magnus’ goal was to purchase a sturdy retractable ladder as part of a larger project; altering the loft space to function as a study, separate from the living area below.The ladder had to offer reliable, safe access to and from the loft whilst bearing in mind a high ceiling of 3.5 metres with restricted space for the ladder to deploy when opening. Ease of operation was also of great importance to Magnus so that deploying and stowing the ladder away could be made as effortless as possible.The Solution…With a heavy-duty aluminium structure and space saving qualities, the Supreme Electric from Premier Loft Ladders was chosen for this application.The Supreme Electric comes with a reliable motor, hard wired to the main supply via a control box and backup battery so it can be deployed and retracted effortlessly with the push of a button! Hard wired switches were also supplied, one on the landing and one in the loft area next to the opening so the ladder can be operated from above and below.The ladder itself features large treads (140mm deep) and a telescopic hand rail as standard, with an additional handrail added for this specific application providing safe, easy access to and from the loft.Installation Challenges…After the Supreme Electric ladder had been installed, there was found to be an issue preventing it from operating automatically. During this time Magnus could still use the ladder manually, thanks to the override option and counterbalance spring design.We worked with Magnus and his electrician to try and resolve the issue. This included checking warning indicators and working through a trouble-shooting guide. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fully diagnose the problem.As such, we sent replacement components for the ladder which were successfully installed by a different firm to the original installation team. After this the ladder operated perfectly, for which Magnus was very grateful.The results…A perfect solution was achieved for Magnus. The Supreme Electric ladder was positioned comfortably in the available space and gave him a safe, reliable access to and from the loft.

Following a year-long transformation, in September 2021, the ribbon was finally cut on the newly-pedestrianised Greenfield Crescent, in Edgbaston Village.Representatives from a host of nearby businesses came to watch CEO of Calthorpe Estates, Haydn Cooper, and Sir Euan Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe to officially open the streetscape.Working with Birmingham City Council, Calthorpe Estates, and McPhillips has seen a new streetscape created to help set Edgbaston Village apart, with high quality public realm areas, easier pedestrian access and reduced traffic.With a vision to create a greener, safer and more accessible Edgbaston Village, the newly designed area has new high quality granite surfaces, planters and planting, festoon lights and upgraded signage, which will enhance access to local businesses, bring to life an improved and more convenient leisure location for those living, working and visiting the area to enjoy.Granite included the BBS Toranja Rosa (pink), Gris Sombrio (medium grey), and Blanco (silver grey) all indigenous to Portugal where the stone was also cut to specification. Haydn Cooper, Chief Executive of Calthorpe Estates said, “We open Greenfield Crescent at an exciting time for Edgbaston. The transformation of Greenfield Crescent was a result of successfully working in partnership with Birmingham City Council to deliver a high quality public realm area, which saw Calthorpe Estates invest significantly in the project. Our ambitions have not stopped here – we are improving the walking route to the Edgbaston Village Metro station over coming months and are delivering a popular Artisan Market along Greenfield Crescent to make the location accessible for all.”Edgbaston Village is already home to a variety of award-winning independent restaurants, cafes, bars and shops, including the Michelin-starred Simpsons, The High Field and Loki Wine, which have just been joined by LUX gallery. Recent plans unveiled by Calthorpe Estates showed the potential for even more al fresco dining and shopping options in the area, all of which will be made increasingly accessible following the creation of the new Edgbaston Village Metro stop, set to open at the end of 2021 along with Chapter restaurant & bar and KIN Homes on Greenfield Crescent.

Located in the heart of the vast new Wembley Park regeneration project, the two residential buildings that make up the Landsby East and Landsby West development (Danish for village) are contemporary in design, with apartment interiors that continue the Scandinavian theme. Externally there are roof terraces and first floor level podium gardens, along with 280 generous balconies that add a stylish and aesthetic feel to the exterior finish of the building.A key element of the balconies was the installation of Isokorb® T structural break units from Schöck. The Schöck Isokorb® T units are structural, but their other long-term purpose is to minimise the risk of thermal bridging. Ineffective insulation at the connection points means local heat loss, resulting in more energy being required to maintain the internal temperature of the building. This is a major consequence of thermal bridging, but there are other issues too. Low internal surface temperatures in the area of the thermal bridge can cause condensation, which leads not only to structural integrity problems with absorbent materials such as insulation products or plasterboard, but the potentially serious occurrence of mould growth. So for any project involving balcony connectivity the prevention of thermal bridging is a critical issue.

A new state-of-the-art Jaguar Landrover showroom was built for the Helston Group in Taunton. The facilities reflect the latest corporate identity concept and comes complete with a new workshop, multi-storey rooftop parking, and an interactive showroom configuration with display systems.The showroom features wide open spaces and a large sales area to provide the customer with a first-class experience. It also affords staff members greater visibility throughout the showroom and forecourt areas. Lusso were appointed by main contractor, Acheson Construction, to provide internal glazing throughout the showroom and workshop area. Lusso 25 frameless single glazed partitioning system and complimentary Lusso glass doors were installed to form individual offices which allow privacy when needed, whilst still maintaining visibility of the showroom. Lusso 105 double glazed frameless partitions were installed to provide a barrier between the showroom and workshop area.The use of stylish internal glazing as part of the backdrop to the stunning Jaguar Landrover range certainly makes an impact. The end result blends functionality and aesthetics, providing a stylish and contemporary showroom worthy of the prestigious Jaguar Land Rover brand.