Nov 21 2007
Thin-jointed Celcon aircrete blocks from H+H UK proved to be the cat’s whiskers for a new cattery at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in Old Windsor, Berkshire. Architect Charles Knowles of Richmond Knowles Architects specified a double skin of Thin-jointed Celcon aircrete block with a full-filled cavity to achieve a high level of thermal and acoustic insulation.
This was the first time that Charles Knowles had used Celcon Thin-joint and he found it ideally suited to the project: “With a building such as a cattery there is quite a bit of intricate work,” he says. “Each pen needs an opening cut in the wall for cats to pass between the indoor and outdoor section, and the ease with which Celcon aircrete can be cut made this very easy. The Celfix quick-setting mortar also enabled us to glue on very small sections of block when we needed to. We found it an excellent material to work with.”
The fine tolerances of Celcon blocks were also a benefit, enabling the masonry construction to engage exactly with the steel outside pens which were fabricated off-site.
The new cattery at Old Windsor comprises 38 pens with an office area and food preparation area for cat food. Construction was on piled foundations. The Celcon aircrete block walls are rendered inside and out with sand and cement and there is a Bauder Sedum roof.
Charles Knowles is now planning to use Celcon aircrete blocks and the Thin-joint system on a second project for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home – an office block at the organisation’s Battersea headquarters. This will be designed as another eco-friendly building with a high degree of thermal and acoustic insulation, Sedum roof and wind turbine for power generation. He is aiming to use sustainable products wherever possible.