Designed by Talbot Design of Aldershot, the new High Wycombe showrooms, workshops and offices of BMW and Mini main dealer Sytner incorporate walls of varying thickness including large areas of fire rated internal glazing.

To meet the requirements for dividing the interior, Tapper Interiors of Banbury selected Avanti’s Unity dry lining and partitioning system for its ability to satisfy all the relevant requirements for the contract. Featuring fire rated, pre-manufactured and retro-fitted door and window frames, the varying thicknesses of walls were easily catered for by the frames which can be expanded from 75mm to 200mm.

The facility for retro-fitting was also a critical feature since solid partitions were decorated with an expensive wall covering material specially imported from the United States. By applying the decoration before fitting the doors and windows, Tapper’s was more easily able to achieve the very high standard of finish required for this contract which involved a total of 53 door frames plus 30 window frames to create an area of 102 square metres of glazed partitioning.

In solid form, the Unity system, which is designed for fast track construction, generally uses predecorated panels supplied with factory fitted clips which are ‘hung’ on bars inserted through specially punched steel studs. Combined with expanding retro-fitted door and window frames and the capability for individual modules to be removed easily, the versatile system is capable of providing high sound attenuation and up to 60 minutes fire resistance.

Source

Glass Age