Masterplanned by architects Foster + Partners, Quartermile is one of the largest and most comprehensive regeneration schemes in Scotland, combining new build with selective refurbishment.

The development provides over 1,000 apartments along with 370,000 square feet of Grade A office accommodation, 65,000 square feet of retail and leisure space, and seven acres of open landscaping.

Siderise was approached by Edinburgh-based facade specialists, Charles Henshaw & Sons, to find a bespoke solution that would meet the acoustic performance criteria requirements for Quartermile’s Q20 – Q25 apartment buildings, all of which feature curtain walling.

The principal challenge was to achieve an on-site test value in excess of the 53dB DnT,w requirement for Building Regulations in Scotland. The target was 56dB DnT,w. For Henshaw this meant that the facade system – a potential weak point for flanking sound transmission – needed to achieve between 61-66dB Dnf,w flanking via the facade, past the floor slab areas, to exceed Building Regulations.

Commenting on the collaborative working relationship with Siderise, Donald Fraser, the Design Director at Henshaw, said: “We had very informative and lengthy discussions with Mike Carrick of Siderise who helped us in achieving a far better detail at the slab edge, which not only met with the approval of RMP, it also proved to be the optimum solution.”

CW-FS firestop was used along with AB10 acoustic barrier overlay and CVB/C10 acoustic void barrier to improve floor-to-floor acoustic performance and form a simple, high performance sound barrier. The acoustic mat was held up with 40mm x 20mm x 1.6mm galvanised angles to stop it sinking. MI mullion inserts were also specified to further increase the acoustic performance at the critical mullion detail.

Project details

Project: Quartermile

Location: Edinburgh, UK

Building use: Residential | Commercial

Developer: Qmile Group

Architect: Foster + Partners | Richard Murphey Associates

Consultant: Arup

Main contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine

Facade/sub-contractor: Charles Henshaw & Sons

Application: Acoustics | Curtain wall

Products used:

CW-FS Firestop
CW-AB Acoustic Barrier Overlay
CVB/C10 Acoustic Void Barrier
MI Mullion Insert

Year: 2020

Architecture & Design Team

Siderise

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