Case Study
Blackstone Headquarters, Berkeley Square London.
Working with South London Timber WIA supplied Tulsaform, a Chilean Medium Density Overlay plywood, for use in the construction of Blackstone’s premier office building currently under construction in Berkeley Square London.
Crafted from Radiata Pine, Tulsaform is strong and durable, with exceptional reusability. It has long been an industry standard for concrete form panels. It delivers a smooth matt finish on concrete surfaces. It is durable and with good site practice can withstand ten repeated pours. Tulsaform is FSC certified and fully compliant with supply chain legislative standards.
Blackstone will occupy the premier 226,000sq ft 10-floor building, which is nearly two thirds larger than its existing office on the square. The development is being led by London commercial property developer, CO—RE, and Stirling Prize-winning architect, AHMM and will support ~5,000 jobs.
The new headquarters reaffirm Blackstone’s long-term commitment to the UK and Europe. The firm doubled headcount in London over the past three years to more than 650 people working across private equity, real estate and private credit amongst its many teams.
Construction is slated to be completed in 2028. The expanded headquarters will include approximately 14,000sq ft of ground-floor retail space and redeveloped public areas surrounding the site at the south end of the square.
The building is aspiring to BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Platinum, NABERS 5 Star Rating and EPC A sustainability criteria, and will incorporate recycled steel from the original building. It will also feature a biodiverse outdoor terrace and balconies on every floor. Once in operation, it will harness renewable energy through ground-source heat pumps and solar panels.
The world's one and only rotating boat lift, a marvel of engineering and Scottish Canals' flagship destination, The Falkirk Wheel connects the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal in a half-turn that takes only five minutes!
Transforming the contaminated site of a former tar works, The Falkirk Wheel opened in 2002 and replaced a flight of 11 locks that once stepped the Union Canal down to the level of the Forth & Clyde, more than 100 feet below. Whereas weary travellers once had a day’s heavy work opening and closing 44 lock gates to complete the journey between the two canals, The Falkirk Wheel allows vessels to transit between the two waterways in just a few minutes.
Now one of Scotland’s busiest tourist attractions, The Falkirk Wheel attracts around 500,000 visitors each year. The Wheel has transformed Falkirk into a key tourism destination, with visitors traveling from all over the world to marvel at the working sculpture which combines modern engineering and technology with ancient principles set out by Archimedes more than 2000 years ago.
When one of the structure’s gondolas is lowered, the opposite one rises, keeping the vast, 1800 tonne boat lift in perfect balance as it carries canal barges 35 metres into the air in a matter of minutes. Incredibly, the structure uses just 1.5kWh for each rotation.
The Wheel lies at the end of a reinforced concrete aqueduct that connects, via the Roughcastle tunnel and a double staircase lock, to the Union Canal.
Tulsaform is an FSC Certified Medium Density Overlay (MDO) plywood used for concrete formwork to produce an exceptional finish.
With a Chilean Radiata Pine core, Tulsaform has a paper one side and a backer reverse to provide extra stability. This high quality product can be reused up to ten times with good site practice.