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 | | FERMACELL DISPLAYS ITS STRENGTHS | | | Fermacell | | 13/11/2006 | | |
Fermacell board is providing a high performance solution for walls and ceilings in a striking extension at the Pier Arts Centre in the Orkneys, home to a unique collection of significant 20th Century British art. The new addition, designed by award-winning architects Reiach and Hall of Edinburgh, will link the Centre's two existing historic buildings to create a single complex.
The new extension is part of a major regeneration project at the Arts Centre in Stromness to provide extra facilities, including space for temporary exhibitions and accommodation for visiting artists. Reiach and Hall specified Fermacell board for the new building having used it successfully on two previous gallery contracts in Scotland. After grappling with the shortcomings of plasterboard and similar options over the years, Fermacell seemed too good to be true, says David Anderson, Associate at Reiach and Hall: 'We've found it to be an ideal solution for this type of application. It's flexible, strong and durable. And you can hang and re-hang paintings and other exhibits without it falling apart over time like plasterboard. It also provides the necessary fire and impact resistance needed in a public building - and all in one board!'
Fermacell is a strong, hard wearing fibre-reinforced gypsum board manufactured from a high proportion of recycled materials in a fully recycling process. A total of 3,500 square metres of Fermacell 12.5mm board is being used for walls and ceilings in the Pier's extension. Regularly specified for galleries and museums, Fermacell offers exceptional load bearing properties, and because it is so strong, even heavy artworks can be fixed directly to the walls with no need for noggins or other support. In fact, up to 30kg can be supported from a single screw fixed straight into the board with no additional fixings - this goes up to 50kg with a single wall plug or toggle type fixing. Interior walls in the new building at the Pier Arts Centre are being constructed from a single layer of 12.5 mm thick square-edged Fermacell board mounted on Protektor steel studding fixed to the blockwork wall. The same board is being used for ceilings, screw fixed to timber joists. To maintain excellent fire and moisture resistance, the board can also be installed as a sacrificial ceiling suspended from the `real' ceiling to accommodate the necessary cut-outs for lighting and ventilation systems.
Fermacell is a brand of Xella Dry Lining, a division of Xella, the international building materials manufacturer. In the UK, Xella Dry Lining offers Fermacell floor, wall and ceiling systems and the HD exterior board system.
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