Cladding on The Link building, which lies on one of London’s busiest arterial routes, was identified as non-compliant with regulations in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Sitting across from the Moorfields Eye Hospital, which is the country’s biggest and oldest eye care hospital, The Link is a mixed-use development with retail premises, offices and residential apartments.
Monies from the Building Safety Fund were allocated to replace dangerous external wall insulation and main contractor Mulalley & Co appointed Hamilton to carry out the remediation works to bring the building in line with the latest regulations. With heavy traffic around the building and no storage facilities for the new facades onsite, we needed to assemble a team of trusted suppliers to ensure the project ran smoothly.
Over the course of our 27 years in business we have built long-standing relationships with many of the leading names in the industry and they are seen as an extension of our teams. A true partnership approach means everyone is invested in ensuring outstanding results.
For The Link we teamed up with Vivalda, Encon, PermaRock and Benx in order to install a new, compliant system that aesthetically mirrored the existing facade. Together we overcame many logistical challenges throughout the year-long project. Access was strictly controlled around the building, which remained fully occupied throughout the works.
We worked with supply partners to devise and roll out a just-in-time programme for deliveries of materials and equipment to minimise disruption and maximise productivity. In addition, the specification included colour matching the existing cladding, which was a mix of greys, mint green, royal blue, vibrant orange and off-white render.
Vivalda fabricated and delivered Valcan’s solid aluminium VitraDual, A1 rainscreen cladding and the Nvelop framing to ensure an exact visual match to the original cladding, along with the supply of the Nvelop NV1 helping hand and rail system. Encon supplied the Rockwool insulation and Siderise Cavity barriers, which were utilised throughout the façade with PermaRock being specified for the external wall insulation requirements. RCM Y-Wall sheathing boards were supplied by Benx and replaced the existing to all areas of the façade.
Hamilton Site Manager, Elonas Bubnelis, co-ordinated delivery schedules with the supply partners so our onsite teams had all the correct materials when they needed them.
He said:
It isn’t unusual for us to be faced with challenges on projects, but The Link was especially difficult. We knew that our tried and tested partnership approach would be key to overcoming any problems and everyone pulled together to deliver outstanding results.
Our suppliers delivered consistently throughout and our installers were able to get on with their work knowing that the materials would be available. It was a real team effort with a common goal to finish the job to the highest of standards.
Chris Meyerhoff, Branch Manager at Vivalda, added:
We’re seeing a lot more customers looking for a complete off-site, just-in-time solution. Thanks to our experienced team, nationwide fabrication capabilities and in-house logistics provision, we were able to ensure that this scheme ran like clockwork.As always, it was a pleasure to work with the team at Hamilton and we are extremely proud to have been involved.
Wayne Farrugia, Sales Executive at Encon, said:
High profile, safety critical projects such as The Link need all the companies involved to work together and supply the different elements when they are required.
There can be no broken links in the chain as this would disrupt the entire system and cause delays. We know that the Hamilton team are experts in their field and, as always, it is great to work with a company that really cares about what they do.
Richard Tocher, Sales Director at PermaRock, agreed:
It is always a pleasure to partner with Hamilton and The Link project was no exception. They bring years of experience and a passion for what they do, which is the perfect mix when working on large scale projects such as this. The results speak for themselves and it was great to have been involved in this complex, yet hugely satisfying job.
Andy Fletcher, who is Sales Director at Benx, added:
Hamilton’s collaborative approach, dedication to excellence and commitment to teamwork is fantastic. The team’s focus on open communication and mutual respect makes a real difference to the outcome of projects. We look forward to working with them on many more schemes in the future.
Daniel Mackie, Director at Hamilton, concluded:
The Link was one of the most logistically challenging projects we have ever worked on, so we knew that extremely careful planning and choosing the right supply partners was imperative. We worked together to create a just-in-time schedule of deliveries to ensure we had the finished façade sections at the right time.
Constant communication meant that as the fabricated sections arrived, teams were ready to unload and transfer for installation on a rolling basis. The colour match is perfect and the building remains a real focal point of conversation in the area. Our collaborative partnership approach means that, with shared goals and responsibilities, everyone works together to overcome challenges and The Link is a perfect example of this.
