News / Press
Kingspan Framing Sections are Top of the Class
23 Aug 2007
Framing Sections from Kingspan Off-Site have been integral to the timely completion of the new York College building. Expected to be the biggest of its kind in the country, the 4-storey College will provide high quality education and training to pupils from the City of York and the surrounding area. On completion it will feature a swimming pool, canteen, nursery and sports facilities.
Kingspan Framing Sections, also known as “stud and track”, were specified to close off most elevations of the 30,000 m2 concrete primary structure. A brand new facility on the site of the former York 6th Form College, the building had to be completed to a very pressing timescale ready for the new school year in September 2007.
Façade installer ECL Contracts Ltd specified Kingspan Framing Sections, knowing they would be able to close off the building envelope as quickly and efficiently as possible so following trades could start fitting out the interior. ECL also used Kingspan sections to create double box cills on several window apertures to support longer span windows.
Kingspan reduces the installer’s workload by pre-cutting the framing sections to length at the manufacturing stage. The sections are product marked according to the installer’s plans, then bundled and strapped together for delivery to site. This provides significant on-site time savings as sections arrive in the right sequence to enable immediate installation. Kingspan’s free software (Stick-Kit) can print construction drawings for use on-site, with clearly marked stud and track sections which correspond to the factory-applied markings.
ECL Site Manager Colin Day explained: “The way that Kingspan marks and bundles its framing sections together makes our installation task much easier. Working to construction drawings we completed the majority of elevations to the agreed programme, and never had difficulty identifying the right sections for the task in hand.”
Finished in a stylish combination of white and terracotta Sto render, tongue and groove cedar panels and sleek grey composite cladding, the college is a fine example of sustainable construction. The steel from the demolished building was salvaged for recycling whilst the rubble was put through a crusher and then used as footings for the new structure.
