"cavity barrier"

Reckitt’s unrivalled range provides health, hygiene and nutrition for people in 200 countries around the world, and at its offices in Slough, Berkshire Style worked with architects, Tetris Design & Build and contractor, BW Interiors, to create flexible space throughout the building.What made this installation particularly notable for Style was that it was the company’s 300th installation of a Skyfold – the market leading, fully automatic, vertically rising, acoustic moveable wall.Installing Skyfolds in both the main boardroom/meeting room and also in the lounge and shop/display area, the moveable walls offer incredible 59dB acoustic ratings and are housed, out of sight, in a ceiling cavity when not in use.“When we introduced Skyfold into the UK market 15 years ago, it was a completely new, ground-breaking moveable wall solution,” said Julian Sargent, Style’s group managing director.“At the push of a button it descends gracefully from a ceiling cavity, and once in place it offers superb room separation with top end acoustic integrity.“Initially it took time to raise the profile of Skyfold with architects, contractors and potential end-user clients, however once the benefits of this operable wall became recognised the numbers of specifications grew rapidly, as it is a truly outstanding form of room separation.”At Reckitt, the Skyfolds enable staff to very quickly divide the rooms, and when not in use they take up no floor space whatsoever and are completely out of sight.Finished in a stylish Kvadrat Steelcut Trio fabric, they also complement the interior design of the building creating a real showcase for anyone visiting the offices.In addition to the Skyfolds, Style was also specified to install a Dorma Huppe Variflex semi-automatic moveable wall in a ground floor studio, also with a 59dB acoustic rating and in an Egger laminate finish.Style is the UK market leader in moveable, partitioning and folding walls and the exclusive UK partner to Skyfold, Dorma Huppe and SWG.

Recognising the urgent requirement for the Co-op Group Food stores to continue to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, dormakaba worked closely with the Group to create the Safe Entry Flow system. The solution can effectively control the flow of people in and out of premises to ensure social distancing guidelines can be maintained, and in store staff can be protected. Acting as an automatic door operator to control the flow of people into a store, Safe Entry Flow is a people counting system that uses 3D and Thermal Imagining to capture footfall data within a store. The counting system links to an automatic door operator, only allowing entry when the number of customers in the store is within a pre-set range (depending on the size of the retail unit), therefore creating a physical barrier to prevent overcrowding. The enhanced solution also provided Co-op with a wealth of data metrics of footfall within their stores, including turn-in rates.A traffic light system and sound box are also linked to the system to provide visible and audible signals to customers at the store entrance, providing a simple and enhanced end-user experience. This innovative solution enabled Co-op Food stores to comply with social distancing requirements, as outlined in the Government’s operating guidelines. The hardworking and dedicated team at dormakaba went from concept to rollout in just 44 days, to allow Co-op Food to operate as efficiently as possible within the COVID-19 climate. Ricky Walker, UK Delivery Director at dormakaba says, “the Co-op Group was looking for solutions for the Food stores to operate as conventionally as possible in unconventional times. Other measures had been trialled to ensure operations continued, however they did not find these as effective in maintaining Government guidelines. “The Group specifically required something to integrate with the automatic doors, that would create a physical barrier to controlling footfall, ensuring customers and staff are kept safe.” “Recognising this, our dedicated project team have developed a solution that forms a physical barrier for people, to ensure guidelines on limiting footfall are met. Safe Entry flow is supported with a designated Technical Support Program to provide assistance from installation through to aftersales maintenance. We’ve had extremely positive feedback from the Co-op Group, with installations still ongoing.”

A series of 10 newly built affordable Council houses in Montrose, Scotland has been fitted with a high-performing variable-permeability vapour control layer from the A. Proctor Group. Procheck® Adapt is designed to protect the building fabric from the potential risks of condensation and act as an effective airtight barrier.The project, led by Angus Council comprises of a mix of one, two and threebedroom properties which will be built with energy efficiency in mind, providing residents with high-quality affordable homes which will be low-cost to heat and run.Jason Noble, Architect with Angus Council commented on the requirement for a high-performance solution to achieve the desired levels of vapour control and airtightness. “We required a high performing vapour barrier and air tightness layer, that could be installed on site by our contractor and achieve our performance specification. We wanted an effective vapour barrier and airtightness layer that when installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and in combination with the timber kit construction would provide an effective airtightness rating of 4 when tested.”Contractor, Andrew Shepherd Construction proposed the use of the Procheck Adapt available from the A. Proctor Group, who has been serving the construction industry for 50 years with an extensive portfolio of technically advanced thermal, acoustic and membrane products.Thanks to its unique design, the Procheck Adapt membrane offers variable permeability which adapts to changes in humidity levels and allows the structure to dry out in the summer and in sunny days during spring and autumn while protecting it from moisture overload in the winter. This is possible because the membrane adapts its vapour resistance to the environment i.e., vapour tight in the winter and more vapour open in the summer.This ensures that the building fabric is protected from damaging moisture levels during cold, wet winter months, and allows the fabric to dry out effectively in warmer, drier months. The introduction of Procheck Adapt will ensure that it provides a high level of protection throughout the lifespan of the properties.Procheck Adapt has a translucent structure which eases fixing to structural frames and in combination with its integral tape allows for a fast installation time. Procheck Adapt is suitable for a variety of commercial and residential applications and provides airtightness to the structure as well as vapour control.