Client: Barratt West London
Job: Capital West, Brentford High Street, London
Value: £240,000
Contractor: George Howe Ltd
Architect: PRC Fewster

Type of works: design supplier and provider of site co-ordination and engineering support during installation of lightweight steel walling which included Eisenberg ArGeTon^® terracotta rainscreens

Barratt West London appointed George Howe Limited to undertake the design and installation of the through-wall construction on its prestigious residential development at Capital West in Brentford High Street, London.

The external facade was created with lightweight steel walling and a combination of Eisenberg ArGeTon^® terracotta rainscreens with Sto insulated render feature areas. Telling Architectural undertook a role as a design supplier and provided site co-ordination and engineering support for the installation company.

As a leading developer in speculative inner-city housing, Barratt appointed Assael Architects as the scheme designers and PRC Fewster as project architects. The combination of curtain walling, glazing elements, feature aluminium profiles and rainscreen facades of ArGeTon® terracotta represented a challenging break from traditional construction that required National House-Building Council (NHBC) and Building Regulations approval.

Compliance with Local Authority acoustic criteria for air and road noise were achieved by laboratory testing along with the CWCT testing for air permeability and weathertightness that are a requirement for all rainscreen applications.

Eisenberg ArGeTon^® terracotta is manufactured by F V Mueller Dachzieglewerke, a founder member of the ArGeTon^® process for extruding twin-skinned tiles for facade applications. The system is characterised by its high impact resistance and low porosity, both of which are of significant importance to the long-term performance of the system.

Eisenberg ArGeTon^® does not rely upon gaskets or pressure clips for its weathering, tolerance of windload or support as each tile is mechanically attached, providing assurance of attachment to the substructure should fire occur.

George Howe Ltd is a leading facades contractor in the UK, operating under an approved register of contractors for installation of the Eisenberg ArGeTon^® rainscreens. The system is suitable for application in both new build and refurbishment using a variety of support systems to suit lightweight steel, traditional concrete/block or as a unitised system within curtain walling.