Mar 31 2004
The landmark Cumberland Hotel, London, offering the ultimate in contemporary and luxury accommodation with its 433 designer Art & Tech en suite rooms, is currently undergoing a spectacular renovation. The £72 million refurbishment, due for completion this summer, has made extensive use of aircrete blocks supplied by Thermalite in an extension of the luxury hotel.
Reardon Smith Architects, in conjunction with main contractors Mowlem plc, specified Thermalite products for the hotel’s extension due to their performance characteristics, ease of use and appearance, fitting in with the overall design scheme of the luxury 4-star-hotel.
In total 9, 000m2 of Shield, Hi-Strength and Hi-Strength Smooth Face blocks were used predominantly in the basement level of construction. The inner leaf of Thermalite Smooth Face provides clean lines, even surfaces and neat sharp arrises, making them ideal for direct painting.
Hi-Strength blocks have been specifically developed to meet the requirements for a 7N/mm2 wall application and also have the advantage of being half the weight of other blocks of equal compressive strength. The extremely lightweight formulation makes the blocks easier to handle, thus speeding up the actual build process, as well a making it an ideal choice for buildings more than two storeys high. In addition, the product meets the manual handling guidelines set out by the HSE.
The insulating properties of Thermalite Aircrete blocks are crucial to the overall efficiency of the building. And as far as acoustic value is concerned, an important factor in the construction of public buildings, Hi-Strength offers significant advantages allowing specifiers to meet the criteria required by the Building Regulations.
The Cumberland Hotel offers a very high standard of construction and energy efficiency, great architectural appeal, the finest luxury features of a modern hotel and a superb location, centrally situated on the corner of Oxford Street and Park Lane overlooking Hyde Park.
Source: Communique Public Relations