The Cornwall division of Midas Group were awarded the contract to build a new business park on a former energy site in Hayle, Cornwall in 2015. The Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park was proposed as a centre for the fast-growing marine renewables market in Cornwall and a regeneration of the Hayle Harbour. The site consists of a two-storey modern office block as well as seven light industrial units.

Midas granted AF Protection Limited the contract to install various passive fire protection systems to both the office block and industrial unit. Firstly, within the office block, an intumescent paint was used to protect the structural steels of the office block for one hour fire protection. AF Protection were then instructed to install air sealing systems throughout the building in preparation for an air test. These applications were installed with relative ease and the building has subsequently been awarded BREEAM Excellent rating (Plymouth Herald, 2016).

Within the industrial unit, a fireboard encasement system was used to the structural steel beams of the industrial unit to provide one hour of fire resistance. These encasements required the use of scissor lifts to establish a working height of up to 15 metres at the very apex of the roof, which was testing but necessary. To create fire breaks between each of the industrial units, an ablative batt and mastic system was used above the roof beams to form separate compartments. These breaks were installed progressively with the board encasement, and again were installed without considerable hindrances.

As the project progressed, there were several occasions where instructions were given by Midas to design installations for aesthetic purposes within the industrial units. A typical example involved encasing visible steels within the unit roof lights with the same fireboard as the structural steels. This would provide a ‘universal’ appearance across each unit and we are proud to say that the design was implemented successfully.

The Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park project was one of AF Protections first large-scale projects since establishment. It was a trialling time in the company’s history, but our expertise and commitment shone through and we were able to complete this project to a high standard, within budget, and on time. We now strive to continue this ethos of excellence in all of our future projects.

Sources:
http://www.cornishman.co.uk/building-work-starts-p...
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/hayle-marine-renew...
http://www.wavehub.co.uk/latest-news/hayle-marine-...

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