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Anticipation is growing for the 2010 Brick Awards which look like being the most successful event in the Awards’ history, with the highest number of entries ever received.

The Awards, which first took place in 1977, are one of the top design and construction awards in the country – and the definitive showcase for what clay brick can do. There are 15 awards split into three categories: housing, building and landscape, and technical and craft.  There is also the Supreme Award – the Brick Development Association Building of the Year, judged to be the best overall project from the 15 award winners.

The calibre of entries was extremely high, making the judging process very difficult for the judging panel, chaired by Bob Allies of Allies and Morrison.  The shortlist can be viewed on the Brick Development Association website, http://www.brick.org.uk/awards/2010.

The Awards will be presented at London’s Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel on 3rd November.  To book tickets and/or tables at the awards, please contact The Brick Development Association on 020 7323 7030 or email brick@brick.org.uk.

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The unique Lossnay heat recovery ventilation system from Mitsubishi Electric has been re-approved and re-listed on the Government’s Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme making energy efficiency more financially achievable in almost any situation.

The ECA scheme enables a business to claim the complete capital allowance on their spending on qualifying plant and machinery, with Lossnay listed under the ‘energy saving plant and equipment’ scheme.

Changes to the product criteria for air to air heat exchangers previously removed all heat recovery ventilation products with moving parts from the Energy Technology List. However Mitsubishi Electric’s commercial (RX5) and residential (DC) Lossnay systems now qualify under new definitions of the product criteria because of their special Hypercore.

This Hypercore is the secret of the Lossnay system with a unique, specially-designed, paper heat exchanger at its core. This allows the highly efficient transfer of heat energy through the supply and extract airflows, and enables Lossnay products to surpass the minimum performance criteria required to list the product on the ECA scheme.

“Businesses can now write off the whole of the capital cost of their investment in these technologies against taxable profits in the period during which they make the investment,” explains Philip Ord, Product Marketing Manager for Mitsubishi Electric. “This can deliver a cash flow boost, a shortened payback period and allows companies to benefit immediately from reduced energy bills.”

Developed and refined over the past 30 years, the Lossnay system has perfected the recovery of waste energy. The unit reduces overall energy costs by extracting stale air and then recovering its heating or cooling energy to either warm or cool the incoming fresh air.

By utilising this recovered energy, the Lossnay system can also save up to 30 per cent on initial capital costs of the heating and cooling plant.

The microscopically small pores in the Hypercore at the heart of Lossnay have been reduced in size even further in the latest Lossnay models allowing improved exclusion of unwanted odours from gases such as ammonia and hydrogen, whilst aiding the transfer of moisture for improved energy efficiency.

The ECA scheme is designed to promote the use of the most energy efficient products to UK businesses in a selection of key product areas.

With the introduction of Part F and L2 of the Building Regulations and with new Part L3 due at the end of the year, modern buildings are becoming more airtight, in addition to needing to be more energy efficient.

However some basic ventilation systems still mean that all of the energy spent heating or cooling an interior is simply thrown away when fresh air from the outside is introduced. The Lossnay product range fully meets these challenges due to its unique design and efficient heat recovery.

Both residential and commercial Lossnay units extract up to 70 per cent of the energy from the outgoing air which means the incoming fresh air needs much less energy to make it match the room temperature.

The Residential DC Lossnay system has also recently achieved SAP Appendix Q Best practice; the product was independently tested and validated to this important and prestigious standard by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) at their test facilities in Hertfordshire, England.

“In our built environment, we face increasing demands for energy conservation yet at the same time occupants rightly expect the highest standards of air quality,” explains Ord. “The ECA listing of Lossnay makes fresh air achievable for almost any building whilst ensuring the best levels of energy efficiency possible.”

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Hager’s Ashley J501 Junction Box has won the Electrical Industry Awards for the most “Innovative Residential Domestic Product of the year” for 2008.

The judges said: “The Ashley J501 Junction Box is designed to ensure more secure terminations and to be easier to access for inspection. The judges feel that it was a tidy innovation that would offer contractors the chance to make significant improvements on current wiring practice.”

Launched at the beginning of 2008, the new Junction Box has taken the market by storm. Sales have exceeded four times projections and it has had extensive coverage in the trade press and been the subject of many online forums.

It helps electricians meet the needs of the wiring regulations and Part P by ensuring that terminations are secure and accessible for inspection.

Says Ashley Product Manager Jane Yorke: “A loose or disconnected cable is a hidden danger with Junction Boxes. Recognising that Junction Boxes are used to supply the connection between fixed wiring and downlights, we developed a new type of Junction Box to help meet the needs of the regulations.”

The new J501 Downlighter Junction Box is torpedo shaped to fit through a 58mm diameter hole in the ceiling. The cables are all securely clamped and exit from either end of the Junction Box. This is in contrast to traditional Junction Boxes where the cables are generally not clamped and often exit at different angles making it hard to push or pull them through the hole without risking damaging or loosening the connections.”

Since its introduction Hager has developed a second Junction Box, the Maintenance Free Junction Box, again to meet the needs of the regulations. Appendix 15 of the 17th edition states that Junction Boxes with screw terminals must be accessible for inspection or use maintenance free terminals.

This new range from Hager contains sprung push fit terminals that do not relax and therefore do not need to be accessible for future inspection. It again provides an easier and faster to install alternative than other methods prescribed by the regulations such as soldering or crimping.

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A key environmental feature of the new £20 million state of the art Aberystwyth Regional Office of the Welsh Assembly is the inclusion of Matrix I EC-DC cooling only fan coil units manufactured by Ability Projects Ltd, Wimborne, Dorset.

Opened late last year by the Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan, First Minister for Wales, the building comprises 7,700 m² of open plan office accommodation with meeting rooms and break out spaces etc on 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor levels with plus ground floor public area and staff restaurant and is designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

The Ability Matrix fan coil system is unique in the UK in providing infinitely variable speed control of the entire fan coil unit as well as each fan within it, enabling each air duct to be balanced for air volume through fan speed alone, thus removing the need for costly, noisy volume control dampers and their time consuming installation. Matrix I fan coils are also designed to adjust the overall air volume according to room occupancy, thermal demand or a combination of the two.

The fan coil units were selected to meet NR31 standards and were supplied complete with Trend IQ212 controllers with sensor and remote sensor setpoints supplied and fitted by third party on site. Fan coil unit capacities vary between 0.71 and 3.37kW against an environment 0f 30 Pa Pascals resistance. Other engineering services, installed by Mitie engineering Services, Cardiff, include natural ventilation, biomass boiler, solar panels, briese soleil natural shading and intelligent lighting controls.

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Tensar International Corporation’s innovative TriAx™ geogrid, and the technical developments it represents, has won one of civil engineering’s most prestigious awards, from the International Geosynthetics Society.

Tim Oliver, Tensar International Vice President Marketing, explains: “The IGS Award is all the more significant because it is presented for achievement in the period since 2005, not just the best in one year. Entry is by invitation following nominations from the industry, so Tensar’s TriAx™ has obviously already made a genuine impression on an international stage.

“Judged against submissions from a very wide field of categories, from construction methods to products and testing equipment, TriAx™ stands out as a significant advance.”

The TriAx™ citation for the IGS 2010 Award, presented at the IGS 9th International Conference in Brazil in May, stated: ‘This IGS award is given to Tensar for the development and implementation of a triangular geogrid intended to display properties not achievable with conventional square or rectangular geogrids. The triangular geogrid has the capacity to develop more isotropic stiffness and this is expected to provide potential benefits across many applications.’

Robert Vevoda, Tensar International President and Managing Director, added: “This prestigious award underlines the effort and investment we have made to demonstrate TriAx™’s in-ground stabilization performance. Our research and development programs in the USA UK and elsewhere are already building on the significant leap forward we have made.”

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McGill’s Electrical has used Hager’s Tebis bus based system to supply a future proofed and flexible central lighting control solution for the University of Dundee’s new 6,500m² library extension.

Using Tebis, McGill’s installed a single 30V bus line throughout the extension. A conventional hardwired solution would have used multiple cables. All the lighting circuits and switches controlling them then simply tap onto the bus line via connectors.

Says Graham Sutherland, project manager for McGill’s: “Providing a solution for switching several lighting circuits supplied from different distribution boards can be a major exercise.

“A conventional hardwired solution would have involved multi-core cabling throughout the building, all being terminated into one central grid switching unit. Apart from the logistics of terminating several cables into the correct switch there is no flexibility to change specifications during the build. Any change in switching control would involve extra cabling.”

Using Tebis each input and output device is assigned an address and then programmed so certain lighting circuits only respond to signals from particular switches. Individual circuits can respond to more than one switch, so an infinite number of switching variations are possible using the system.

The bus system also makes it easy to check the emergency lighting. Someone simply switches off all the lighting circuits to simulate a mains failure for a walk test.

Says Sutherland: “We probably saved about 20% labour time using Tebis compared to conventional hard wiring. More importantly however the system gives us the flexibility to change or add to the specification without having to run new cabling throughout the building.”

The new extension provides students with IT and WiFi facilities, integrates other libraries into one central building and provides additional room for research.

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Strengthening its online presence even further, Triton Showers has launched eight ‘Good Clean Fun’ viral videos to encourage the nation to ‘get daft, get messy and get filming'. And there is a £1,000 stake on offer for those ready and willing to take up the challenge.

Each of the clips, which can be seen on YouTube, Triton’s website or on the Triton Showers Facebook Fan Page, show people of all ages finding simple ways to have ‘Good Clean Fun’ – before setting the challenging for people to create their own fun videos.

Clips include students sliding through curry to someone waterskiing through a muddy field behind a quad bike and children enjoying their party food on a bouncy castle – all in the knowledge they can get clean in their Triton Shower afterwards.

Those inspired to make their own films can simply upload them to www.tritongoodcleanfun.tv. The video with the most views by 31st August 2010 will scoop the fantastic £1,000 prize.

Lorna Fellowes, managing director of Triton Showers said:

“As more people turn to the internet as a source of information and entertainment, Triton’s ‘Good Clean Fun’ viral campaign aims to engage with our customers, installers and merchants on a new level. We hope to encourage people to break from their routine and simply have fun, without worrying if it means they get a bit messy.”

The ‘Good Clean Fun’ campaign brings a fun and engaging element to the 2010 campaign and follows Triton’s investment in the development of its new look website, You Tube channel, Facebook fan page and Twitter feed.

please use this link to view an example 'Good Clean Fun' video: http://bit.ly/Triton_I_D

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Orbis Timber Doorsets from Laidlaw Solutions have been supplied with ironmongery to 3 Academies and 3 schools as part of 'Wave 1' of Sunderland City Council’s £120 million 'Building Schools for the Future'. These included Darlington Academy, Castle View Enterprise Academy and Red House Academy together with Washington School, Biddick School Sports College and Pennywell School. St. Robert of Newminster RC School is scheduled as part of the next phase.

The doorset specification was based on a paint grade frame, laminate-faced door leaf and Orbis Commercial Silk Anodised Aluminium ironmongery. Work began in early 2009 following months of development in conjunction with the Balfour Beatty Construction design team. In addition to a complete transformation of the learning experience, the BSF developments have been designed for the positive impact they will have on regeneration initiatives, inward investment, the local economy and efforts to meet skills shortages in Sunderland. Wave 1 funding involved a combination of new build and refurbishment, with pupils also using a vocational centre for subjects such as the performing arts, sport, construction, engineering and ICT.

By co-ordinating the supply of doors, frames, glazing, ironmongery and access control at the specification stage, the risks associated with scheduling multi-site, fast-track projects were greatly reduced.

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The leading global designer and supplier of lighting systems, Havells Sylvania has enhanced its successful SYL:Fire range of fire-rated downlights with the introduction of a low energy compact fluorescent option.

The new Syl:Fire CFL features a Mini-Lynx 9W ES fast start lamp, which consumes up to 80% less energy, lasts six times longer than a standard incandescent lamp and delivers excellent lumen output.

Launched in 2007 the Syl:Fire range has quickly proved popular with installers, specifiers and consumers. In order to set a high standard, the Concord design team created a sleek design and maximum protection from fire and noise with ease of installation and low maintenance.

Like all Syl:Fire downlights, the CFL version is manufactured from steel and incorporates the highest quality intumescent materials, which will expand up to 15-times their normal size under heat and pressure – a reaction that seals the fixture and ceiling cut out to stop all heat, smoke and flames from spreading. Additionally, tough stainless steel springs guarantee that the fixture will be held in place in the event of fire.

From an installer’s point of view, the innovative easy-wire connector that is another feature of the SYL:Fire range makes connection easy.

The Syl:Fire range has been tested by the British Research Establishment in accordance with the following Building Regulations:

• Part B – fire safety – 30, 60, and 90 minute tests
• Part C – resistance to containments and moisture
• Part E – acoustic rating
• Part L – air tightness

John Mercer, Havells Sylvania’s Marketing Manager for Hotel, Leisure & Residential fixtures, comments: “Syl:Fire has fast become the industry standard. It is the most compact and easy to install fire-rated downlight currently available in the UK and the addition of the low energy CFL option will extend its already wide appeal.”

Syl:Fire downlights are available in Fixed, Tilt, IP65 Halogen and CFL versions and a choice of white, polished chrome and polished brass finishes.

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