BCL’s Pre-Fabricated Timber Panels for Rapid Construction

As part of the £25 million Wolverhampton Academy Trust sponsored Bilston Academy, BCL were tasked to deliver and install our timber cladding panels as a  full cladding solution, including all membranes, insulation and SFS. This key project was delivered through the BSF programme by Carillion PLC and designed by Capita. The academy was designed with the ability to deliver a modern multi-disciplinary education centre for the 1200 students of Wolverhampton Academy in mind. The building is made up of 4 differently themed zones, a dedicated engineering hub, a science super-lab and a combination of grass and astro-turf sports pitches. Using 69 x 44 mm of Siberian Larch wood cladding panels, the external walls were covered, with the timber installed vertically at 100 mm to form an open screen detail across the building, including the plant room and roof areas. Each individual slat of the external wooden panels were treated to Class 0 SSF, using the non-com impregnation system from Lonza Wood Protection. In doing this, BCL ensured the building would have complete fire protection for its entire life without requiring any maintenance.

As per all BCL timber panel systems everything was designed and pre-fabricated off site into a panellised system, fitted using secret fixings. Installation time was dramatically reduced along with on-site waste, meaning the 3000 m2 envelope was constructed quickly and efficiently.