Farrat Isolevel Ltd

Set to be the tallest building in Africa at 250-metres with 55 stories, Mohammed Tower IV is a new high-rise tower designed by Rafael de la Hoz & Hakim Benjelloun to resemble a rocket on its launch pad. The striking development will be visible from 50km in all directions and forms the centre piece in the Bouregreg Valley Development Project, which plays a leading role in the development programme for Rabat, ‘the City of Light,’ in the Moroccan Capital of Culture. Once complete, the project will provide a luxury hotel, commercial offices, high-end residential apartments, and a viewing sky terrace.The ChallengeSustainability and energy efficiency are both primary design considerations in this project, with the client aiming to achieve LEED Gold and HQE quality standards. LEED certification provides an independent guarantee of a building’s green features, with a LEED Gold rating representing first-class leadership in resource-efficient building design, construction, operations, and maintenance.Farrat were contacted via our export partner in the GCC region, UniGroup, to supply a high-performance, robust, and certified fire-resistant thermal break solution to mitigate against thermal bridging across façade connections for contemporary facade design company Glassline Abu Dhabi. Farrat Structural Thermal Breaks are favoured across the construction industry, as the most efficient & responsible way to thermally separate structural connections and prevent heat loss in the building envelope.The thermal breaks would form part of a wider sustainable construction program, alongside smart energy efficiency systems such as 3350 m² of photovoltaic solar panels on the South façade, rainwater recovery and wastewater recycling systems and an internal energy recovery system to produce hot water.The SolutionFollowing a review of the connection designs, Farrat TBF was selected as the optimal structural thermal break material for extensive use across the façade connections of Mohammed Tower, to prevent heat transfer through steel beams where the external building aspects meet the interior.Farrat TBF is an A2 rated non-combustible structural thermal break material capable of maintaining superior structural performance at temperatures more than 1000°C. Farrat TBF also provides high-level thermal performance to solve structural thermal bridge issues and exceeds all current fire regulatory requirements for buildings above (and below) 18m.Following several high-rise fire tragedies across the globe, increasing numbers of building designers are looking to go beyond the standard when it comes to fire safety.The DesignThe inherent non-combustible composition of Farrat TBF was the solution to the fire element of the design, allowing unrestricted use in the high-rise construction. Use of the material’s remarkably high compressive force resistance allowed Farrat to assess the transmission of loads through the structural connection, sufficient to maintain performance under influence from weather stresses.The Outcome“In designing and securing this high-performance project, Farrat utilised the full extent of our material research & development skills and harnessed our extensive experience of thermal bridging projects in all climates and circumstances around the globe,” states Chris Lister, Commercial Manager of Structural Thermal Breaks at Farrat.“The resulting construction details are to the highest levels of structural and fire safety performance whilst also being beautiful in their simplicity.”Structural Thermal Breaks with FarratFarrat Structural Thermal Breaks are favored across the construction industry, as the most efficient & responsible way to thermally separate structural connections and prevent heat loss in the building envelope.#onamission

The Farrat CineRANGE provided optimal acoustic isolation for the Ealing Picturehouse, a newly built 8-screen cinema with a café, bar, and kiosk in one of London’s most iconic film locations, a local landmark with a rich history.Farrat designed and supplied several products including; CineWALL PRO partition base track isolation, CineTIMBER LITE isolation strips, for lightweight stadia seating isolation, and CineFLOOR LITE acoustic floating floors specifically engineered for auditoriums which were also fully installed, and quality assured by our expert site team.

Ashley Road East (ARE) is a new 183-unit mixed-use development located in Tottenham Hale, set to play an important role in defining the area’s regeneration with the construction of two residential blocks, retail and office space.Due to the developments prime London location, Farrat were contacted at pre-construction phase to help develop a variety of isolation solutions to mitigate against both structural and thermal disturbances impacting building performance.Challenge 01: Low frequency ground-borne noise and vibrationFarrat Solution: Building Vibration Isolation SystemA key challenge when building in London is the surrounding network of the London Underground, railway lines, high traffic roads and activity from the busy city life, and this development is no exception. Vibration generated from the London Underground Victoria Line would cause significant structural problems and without building vibration isolation there would be a high risk of disruption from structure-borne noise.Farrat designed a Base Vibration Isolation system as the most efficient long-term solution for ARE, to ensure a comfortable and safe environment for the entire lifetime of the building. The Farrat assemblies within the system were designed, manufactured and then supplied by Farrat directly to the ARE site. Throughout the construction phase, Farrat supported the project team with regular on-site installation guidance and post-installation inspection.Challenge 2: Thermal bridging in high-rise balcony connectionsFarrat Solution: Fire-rated Structural Thermal Breaks (Farrat TBF)Balconies are a great way of introducing an outside space to apartments and are becoming an increasingly attractive feature to developers, designers and end users alike. Even before COVID-19, a balcony could add up to 12% to the price of a home without a garden and this rises to as much as 25% in Chelsea. With balconies however, comes another leading consideration for designers of apartment buildings – fire safety. It is becoming increasingly critical that all building materials used above 18m are certified as fire safe and that this consideration is worked in at early design stage, to ensure they meet safe buildings standards.With this is mind, our A2 certified fire resistant Structural Thermal Break, Farrat TBF, was selected for use between balcony connections on this new London development. The high rigidity of Farrat TBF will effectively impose stiffness on potentially flexible connections in balconies, avoiding bounce and making for a more reassuring and safe experience.Farrat in London redevelopmentAshley Road East is just one of many projects currently underway in the country’s capital with the help of Farrat. If you take a walk through London you will see evidence of our teams hard work across a large number of redevelopments and projects. #onamission

A Cupper Press was recently installed in a new can making factory in Europe, which was built near to commercial and office buildings in the surrounding area. Following recommendations from a consultancy specialising in vibration and structural dynamics, the Cupper Press was installed on top of an inertia block supported by spring elements and visco-dampers, offering a system natural frequency of 1.25 Hz. However, high movements were reported on the machines Spring Foundation during production and as a result the vibrations were emitting outwards to the neighboring buildings.The impact of this movement was premature wear on the machine and increased spoilage, reducing the overall productivity of the plant. The ChallengeFarrat were contacted to provide a replacement solution that would reduce the excessive movement of the Cupper Press and create a quieter environment for the neighbouring buildings. Cupper Presses are commonly used in can manufacturing to produce cylindrical cups from rolls of aluminium or metal. The primary action of this type of machine is to punch discs from sheets at high speeds. This action generates vertical excitations at frequencies determined by the speed of the machine, also known as ‘shocks’.  These heavy vibrations have damaging effects on the functionality of the machine installation, its systems and components, and the machines overall productivity. Shock induced vibrations can also damage the building by generating waves and noises that propagate out into the environment. It is therefore crucial to ensure that Cupper Presses are installed on suitable vibration control systems to mitigate against these effects. The primary element of this challenge was to stiffen the overall system, while preventing excessive vibrations being transmitted around. The SolutionFarrat’s application engineers considered several system criteria during the design phase, such as the mass, dimensions, and operating speed of the machine, as well as system stability and the isolation performance required to meet the clients challenging requirements.To resolve both of the clients issues, Farrat engineered a replacement vibration isolation system configured with bespoke bearings made of a steel base and 2 layers of Isomat isolators.Learn more about the material properties of Farrat Isomat here.Performance Results A vibration investigation was conducted by Farrat to measure the level of vibration emitted before and after replacement of the spring packs, to assess the efficiency of the Farrat Isomat System. The results of the survey are presented in the adjacent plot, showing the vertical accelerations measured before replacement with the blue curves, and after installation of the Farrat Isomat Bearing with the orange curves.Vibrations measured at the feet of the machine are shown on top, on the inertia block in the middle, and on the surrounding factory floor at the bottom. The results were observed at all measured operational machine speeds, between 110 and 170 RPM.  A significant vibration reduction can be seen in each part of the system, particularly at the operational speed of the Cupper Press at slightly below 2 Hz. This is the frequency where the machine is most likely to be moving & rocking, impacting the process quality. The pre-existing system of springs with visco-dampers has proven unsuitable because of its extremely low natural frequency, which is excessively close to the disturbing frequencies generated by the Cupper Press – increasing the risk of resonance issues. ConclusionThe client’s requirements have been met by the Farrat Isolated Foundation solution, which has significantly lowered the movements of the machine while maintaining a quiet environment for nearby buildings. This demonstrates the efficiency of Farrat Isomat systems for Cupper Press machine applications, where bespoke design solutions are needed to solve complex engineering challenges.#onamission

Farrat BowlFLOOR PRO was designed and supplied to provide acoustic isolation for the five-lane bowling alley, part of Roxy Leisure’s new site in Leicester

Farrat designed and supplied CineSTEEL PRO isolation pads for several of the sound stages included in this project. Working with the design team to develop the most economical solution, the Farrat team were able to turn around a suitable design within a few days to provide a solution.