Hunter Douglas is Hot Choice for Fire Control Centres

The completion of cladding installation at Wakefield's new Fire Control Centre has coincided with an award for the recently completed Fire Control Centre in County Durham.

Both projects involved the installation of Hunter Douglas's advanced ventilated (rainscreen) façade system, QuadroClad.

The two Fire Control Centres, in Belmont Business Park, County Durham, and Paragon Business Village, Wakefield, form part of Government plans to create a modern network of nine new fire control centres across the country to replace the existing 46 control rooms.

The £12.8m Durham centre, which replaces existing control rooms in Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear, was officially opened by Fire Minister Parmjit Dhanda earlier this year.

The building, designed by Newcastle-based Dewjo'c Architects, has already been awarded the 2007 Office Development Award in the annual Landmark Awards organised by leading northern business publication The Journal.

The Wakefield project, which will become the new Control Centre covering the Yorkshire and Humber region, includes integrated Hunter Douglas Aerofoils, which were also supplied by Hunter Douglas alongside the QuadroClad ventilated façade panels.

Andrew Lee, general manager of Hunter Douglas Facades & Sun Control, said: ‘There were some challenging requirements within the façade brief, such as ultra-flat panels and the development of additional support structures to cater for an unusually large void behind some of the cladding.

‘Hunter Douglas is accustomed to handling this type of bespoke requirement, which is why our products were specified.

‘The announcement of the Landmark Award for the Durham Fire Control Centre was fantastic news. It's the icing on the cake for what has been a very successful project.’

The cavity wall construction on this project achieves a very high thermal efficiency and an air leakage rate four times that required by the current Building Regulations, and achieved an 'excellent' BREEAM rating.

Whelan Construction Development was the main contractor on the Durham Fire Control Centre, with Dane Architectural the cladding contractor.

The Manchester office of architect Broadway Malyan is responsible for the Wakefield control centre, partnered by main contractor Costain and cladding contractor Rossway Dowd.

Web: http://www.hunterdouglas.co.uk