A major refurbishment project undertaken by Brighton & Hove Council to create a new customer services centre for Brighton residents at Bartholomew House, is using aluminium ‘Forma’ column casings from Encasement to conceal ground floor structural columns at the £1.8 million scheme.
Designed in house by the council’s Property & Design team and constructed by its strategic partner, Westridge Construction, Bartholomew House is a five-floor building that combines the services previously provided by three separate centres into a single modern facility.
The ground floor, which has been extended as part of the project, houses the new spacious customer service centre, which includes 21 interview booths, alongside the eleven column casings from Encasement, which have been installed to not only conceal structural steelwork, but also form part of the circular seating arrangement around each column.
Each 860mm diameter column casing is manufactured from lightweight aluminium and incorporates a 1750mm diameter disc at the top of the 2.7 metre high casing to create an aesthetic finish to the installation that matches the diameter of the circular seating design.
Bright colours have also been used throughout the interior design to enhance the contemporary look and feel of the ground floor layout and the column casings are finished in a RAL 5015 blue polyester powder coated (PPC) finish, which contrasts with the bright green seating and interior décor to help guide visitors to the correct area. A PPC finish is also applied to the ceiling level header discs, which are finished in white to help reflect light downwards onto the seating.
The entire project has been conceived as a low maintenance and adaptable, energy efficient design, which is expected to deliver a 12% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the end of 2013 and produce around £300,000 of cost savings each year.
Encasement’s Managing Director, Martin Taylor, commented: “Its not until you enter the refurbished and extended building that the spacious modern design of the ground floor customer services centre can be fully appreciated. The innovative seating installed around our column casings provides a practical and aesthetic solution for people waiting to be called to the interview booths, while the bright colour scheme works extremely well to create a positive environment.”