Northpoint was one of many buildings discovered to be wrapped in aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding following the fire at Grenfell in June 2017. After the government’s £200m ACM remediation fund was announced in May 2019, Northpoint was deemed eligible for support. CAN Structures were duly requested to undertake the controlled removal of 2,200 square metres of ACM cladding.
The CAN site team removed all the ACM cladding, reinstated rainwater services and security lighting, and recycled as much of the façade material as was possible.
Following the removal of the ACM cladding, the challenging reclad project was led by main contractor Buxton Building Contractors Limited and involved façade engineers Thomasons saw our VitraDual A1 Fire Rated Aluminium panels being fabricated into curved cassette panels and installed using our VitraFix subframe system.
The final result is a modern façade that not only enhances aesthetics but also meets compliance standards—ensuring peace of mind for all residents.
As illustrated on the Northpoint project, Valcan VitraDual can be custom-designed into a wide range of shapes and dimensions as well as able to be perforated or curved in some applications making it a versatile design choice.
VitraDual is one of the few large format cladding panels that are truly 100% non-combustible achieving A1* to BS EN 13501-1. Also tested to BS8414-2 for fire performance of external cladding systems and compliant to BR135 requirements - certificates are available which include VitraDual in specific configurations.
VitraDual has also been successfully tested to CWCT standards at a safety loading of 3600pa in both cassette fix and rivet fix using VitraFix as the subframe system.
VitraDual (3mm) comes with a BBA (certificate number 20/5824) giving an external cladding service life of at least 30 years - see section 10 of the BBA.
Please download the test reports here for full specifications, limitations and criteria.
VitraDual gives the insurers, architects, contractors and building owners peace of mind on product specification.