One of the world’s highest safety rated cladding products has been used as part of the first phase of the £800m development project at London’s Waterloo train station.
The A1 non-combustible fire and blast rated glass cladding from Dynamic Cladding, now available in the UK for the first time thanks to a new partnership with established external wall insulation and rendering supplier SPSenvirowall, was chosen for public areas and stairwells in the station to provide the greatest levels of security and protection for the future.
The DynaPanel Glass System provides the highest rating of fire and blast protection of any UK product of its kind, having undergone rigorous specialist testing to guarantee its suitability for the project.
As well as a bespoke blast test, the testing required included oversized panels as well as cut outs within test panels. DynaPanel Glass was the first product to successfully pass this kind of extensive testing in the UK.
The cladding is being used as part of stage one of the refurbishment and improvements at Waterloo, which are the biggest seen in the historic train station since the 1930s.
Stage one includes making improvements to platforms 1-4 to allow trains of increased length to use the platforms, and the rebuild of the former Waterloo International Terminal to allow platforms 20–24 to be brought back into use with modern facilities, new track and signalling and a spacious concourse area.
Gavin Ross, Technical Specifications Manager at SPSenvirowall, said: “Today’s designers and engineers are faced with a whole new level of safety and security considerations. Our partnership with Dynamic Cladding has meant that we can now supply cladding products to the UK market, providing opportunities for greater levels of specification to high profile projects like this.
“Our glass system is ETA approved, which meets and goes beyond BBA requirements, providing confidence to designers working on challenging projects like this one.
“Waterloo Station is a very old, historic building and so careful consideration needed to be made at every stage of planning and design, especially as there is limited knowledge of its original construction. It also has the added challenge of still being operational during the work, making access more difficult, as well as very tight deadlines to contend with as products were needed on site within just four weeks, which we delivered on.”
The DynaPanel Glass System used in the station features a matt, non-reflective finish which included a nano technology coating, providing an easy clean, antimicrobial surface that maintains an ‘as-new,’ sparkling appearance for longer.
The cladding is known for being lightweight and durable as well as being scratch resistant.
Gavin Ross added: “As well as being extremely functional and practical for projects such as railway stations, airports, hospitals or shopping centres, the product also offers fantastic design flexibility with a wide range of colours and finishes and a genuine aesthetic appeal so that designers can get the best of both worlds, delivering beautiful projects with the highest safety features.”
Wessex Capacity Alliance was awarded the contract to design and construct the Waterloo and South West upgrade of the South West Trains network in the South of England. Global design firm AECOM was appointed as the project architects, with Skanska as the main contractor and Mott MacDonald as its structural engineer. Windell was the contract manager for the refurbishment with Rollecate appointed as panel installer using Dynamic Cladding products via leading external wall insulation and rendering supplier SPSenvirowall.
