Construction Specialties - CS supplied crashrails and heavy duty rubber corner guards to the Guildhall Shopping Centre in Exeter to ensure protection for their back-of-house areas.
Opened in 1976, the Guildhall Shopping Centre in Exeter was recently refurbished for the first time with the planned improvements, led by owners Aviva Investors involving significant changes to the public areas, the High Street entrance, and the Higher Market section. By investing in the refurbishment and extension, the owners sought to attract top quality brands and restaurant businesses to the shopping centre, offering local residents a best-in-class retail and leisure destination.
Architects BDP, along with property consultants GL Hearn, and Cushman & Wakefield, were tasked with redesigning the shopping centre in a way that paid homage to its heritage, while also meeting the owners’ aspirations.
With the additional store lettings and the entry of more retailers, there was increased pressure on back-of-house areas from stock deliveries moving through corridors, and potentially higher maintenance costs due to damaged walls.
To ensure the back-of-house areas stayed operational and required minimal maintenance, the architects BDP chose CS Acrovyn rubber wall protection. Designed with excellent shock-absorbing qualities, Acrovyn is the ideal solution for busy service corridors liable to damage from trolleys and carts.
CS supplied 270 metres of 200W crashrail and more than 60 full height, heavy duty rubber corner guards for installation across three back-of-house levels by their in-house installation team, Conspec Contracts. The Acrovyn rubber protection package ensures that back-of-house areas can stay low maintenance for years to come.
The extreme duty EPDM rubber rails are capable of withstanding the toughest of knocks. Since each service corridor required different levels of protection, CS supplied the 200W crashrail in two thicknesses and in some areas, installed the rail at two heights – mid-level and low-level – for extra protection.
The full height heavy duty rubber corner guards protect vulnerable external corners throughout the corridors and lift areas of the centre.
Chris Short, Operations Manager for the Guildhall Shopping Centre said:
“Wall damage, and the potential for service corridor areas to be out of commission due to repairs, was a concern for us. We needed an ‘install and forget’ protection solution for the walls and lift lobbies, and the rubber wall profiles from CS are just that. I feel confident knowing that our back-of-house areas are no longer vulnerable to damage, and that our maintenance budget can be allocated to other areas of the shopping centre.”
