Specifying Pendock architectural casings?
We regularly provide guidance and advice on specifying Pendock architectural products and the best choice for specific applications, so we asked Technical Project Manager, Gavin Byram to answer some of the more common queries and provide an insight.
Which Pendock products tend to be used on commercial and public buildings?
We have an exceptionally wide range of architectural casings and decorative finishing systems, but the two brands that are most frequently specified are Radius column casings and Linea building linings.
Both are architectural design-focused solutions, and each incorporates several different products, six within Radius and nine for Linea. Each offers a wide range of styles, materials and finishes, allowing architects a high degree of creative freedom in both aesthetics and meeting key performance criteria.
Radius and Linea are regularly specified separately, but it’s becoming more common for both to be specified on a single project. This provides additional benefits to the design team, as Pendock can offer technical expertise, gained across a range of similar building types, along with site surveys, supply-and-install packages and project management services.
By using a single company to supply products and specialist contracting services, it this can help simplify the management process, as well as enhancing project quality and consistency of finish.
Column casings are integral to many commercial & public buildings. How should architects approach the specification process?
Practicality is a big driver. Specifiers should begin by accurately assessing the footfall likely to pass through the space. Prefinished products, such as those with high pressure laminate (HPL) or polyester powder coated (PPC) finishes are the preferred choice for most public areas as they are durable, and cost-effective to maintain.
In contrast, ‘unfinished’ products, such as GRG column casings, may need frequent repainting and potential repair work if used in high-traffic public environments and over time, the cost of maintaining these types of products is likely to exceed the initially higher price of laminate or PPC aluminium equivalents.
The choice of finish can also have an impact on installation cost on some projects. For example, where multiple column casings are stacked to reach extended heights such as 10 metres or more, casings designed for on-site finishing would be impractical, as scaffolding would need to be erected, dismantled, and moved to finish each casing. However, pre-finished solutions provide a practical, durable and consistent finish without the potentially time consuming complexity of site finishing.
Buildings with the highest levels of foot traffic require the greatest levels of protection and durability. Column casings used in airports, for example, would be specified from PPC aluminium, stainless steel or HPL finished plywood or MDF, depending on their location.
For example, baggage carousel and collection are potentially high impact areas due to the high volumes of people and trolleys, while lounges would be less so, which clearly influences both material and finish specifications.
Conference centres are also very high-traffic environments. Radius column casings are used in several areas at Birmingham’s NEC and are designed to meet the specific needs at different locations. In the main piazza areas, the NEC’s 39 structural columns were concealed using 4-metre-high circular and extended circle design plywood casings with a durable high gloss HPL grey finish.
However, at the entrances to the exhibition halls, a significantly different design resolved several practical and aesthetic issues, where large, elliptical section metal ‘fins’ clearly signal the entrance to the individual exhibition areas. Large aluminium numbers on each side of the casings also help visitors identify the different halls for easy navigation.
Depending on the building type, does the column casing specification change?
Within individual public or commercial buildings, the column casing specifications can and should change, depending on the function and type of the space where they are installed.
In commercial offices, particularly multi-tenanted buildings, often the entrance and reception areas feature high-end products, such as polished stainless-steel column casings or lift lobbies, whereas on the upper floors, GRG casings are regularly used for reasons of cost, while also allowing tenants to apply their own decorative or corporate colour schemes.
For swimming pools, we would recommend durable but cost-effective laminate casings in the reception and hospitality spaces, combined with GRP products in all the poolside areas to combat the corrosive effects of air moisture and chlorine. It’s horses for courses really, but the scope of materials and finishes covered in our range provides specifiers with a wide creative palette.
What should be considered when specifying lining systems?
In commercial and public building projects, the main products selected from the Linea range tend to be bulkheads & fascias, ceiling rafts, wall linings, parapet capping and atrium beam casings.
PPC aluminium or GRP-based products are the most frequently specified, as they possess the best mix of characteristics, such as durability, design versatility and the ability to be used on both exterior and interior applications.
Although the materials used to manufacture Pendock linings may not differ between the public and commercial sectors, the way in which the items are detailed may need to change depending on building type.
Within hospitals, for example, joints between lining sections or casings need to facilitate easy cleaning and to prevent traps for dust, dirt and bacteria, so over-sized joints are preferable. However, flush or semi-concealed solutions, are suitable and commonly used in offices, libraries or civic buildings.
Ceiling rafts and linings are used in both commercial offices and public buildings, such as libraries and concert venues, yet the design and specification of these items will often be driven by specific needs of individual buildings, such as acoustic requirements and lighting in addition to aesthetics.
Atrium beam casings provide a practical and decorative solution for concealing structural beams used to support glazed atria. Typically, they are specified and bespoke manufactured from aluminium with a PPC finish and designed to be as unobtrusive as possible to improve aesthetics and maximise the light entering the building.
There’s clearly a broad range of aspect to consider, can specifiers get support when selecting Pendock products?
Absolutely. Apart from having a detailed presence on NBS Source, we also have wealth of specification clauses, DWG and PDF drawings and product information on our website. Alongside this, our experience technical and sales support team is available over the phone or via e-mail to help with most enquiries.
