The majority of apartments in the development have views facing directly west onto the mature tree canopy of the park and, because of these uninterrupted views, the architects, ZM Architecture, were keen to complement the natural surroundings by specifying timber products for the development’s finishing touches.
Due to the high-end nature of the project, the timber used had to be top quality and needed to match the look of luxury that had been achieved throughout the site This was why hardwood timber was specified for all the external finishing touches including fencing throughout the development, bin stores and decking.
Tatajuba was used for the decking because of the darker wood finish, while Keruing was chosen for the fencing, posts and bin stores. All of the wood was treated with Seasonite which protects the wood against bugs and insects, and then it was given a final treatment of Textrol, a high quality deep penetrating decking strain that won’t peel or flake off and protects the wood against moisture and sun damage.
ZM Architecture’s Richard Pears, said: “Glasgow suffers from some harsh weather conditions at times, so it was important that all the external timber structures were able to withstand these. To mitigate this, the fencing, bin stores and decking were all specified in hardwood. It is quite uncommon to use hardwoods for such purposes due to the cost, but we felt it was a worthwhile investment due to its durability and the quality of the timber.”
The contract was awarded to International Timber by main contractor AKP. This was the first time they had worked together and the main reason behind the decision to use International Timber was their ability to source the large quantity of hardwood timber required for the project in a tight timeframe.
Richard continued: “We were impressed with International Timber and the team’s excellent product knowledge and accessibility. If they couldn’t answer a query straight away, they would come back to you as soon as they had an answer. Also, when one of the timbers we originally specified was not available, International Timber was able to provide an alternative straight away so we didn’t end up slipping behind on the tight timeframe.
“This made the process simple and made sure everything was on site when the contractor needed it.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
