Holloway Head SFS Phases 1 and 2, Birmingham
The Project
Drywall Contracts worked with Winvic Construction to develop Holloway Head, one of Birmingham’s largest PRS schemes. The site, located just ten minutes’ walk from Birmingham New Street Station, has been vacant for over 25 years. It’s redevelopment is part of the wider regeneration of Birmingham City Centre through the Big City Plan.
The modern design consisted if four blocks ranging from 10 to 16 stories, adapting to the challenging, steeply sloping topography of a 13m drop across the site. The 485 apartments are divided into 132 one-bedroom, 344 two-bedroom, and 9 three-bedroom apartments. The scheme offers extensive resident amenity space including a media lounge, co-working spaces, formal lounges, dining area, gym, landscaped courtyards, and roof terraces. Additionally, 3,660 sq. ft of commercial space is available at the ground level to activate street presence.
A new Girl Guides headquarters was built on the south site as they vacated their existing HQ building, Trefoil House located on the north end of the site. The new headquarters will include multiple activity rooms, a common rooms, a large main hall and a shop.
Due to the evolving nature of modern high-rise construction and the need for value engineering on the DCL package, a new SFS spec using a Portuguese board was developed. This board, known as SnapSure or EasyCut, was not yet available in the market at the time. Another significant challenge faced on this project was access, because the ground conditions around the building, the Mast climbers would not be available until later in the project. This required the development of an installation method that allowed the panels ti be built on the ground and then safely lifted into position without the use of a crane. This led to the creation of a panelised system utilising retaining angles, enabling the entire project to be built and boarded without the use of external access equipment.
To ensure the new build-up performed correctly, DCL conducted their own fire tests using the new products and fixing methods. The test results exceeded expectations, with the panels achieving 57 minutes more than the desired performance.
Scope of Works
- SFS to 11500m2
- Firetests as required
- Obex EPDM
- Wraptight or Obex Membraine to whole project