Originally completed in 2009, Orchard Plaza at 41 High Street in Poole stands as a prominent residential development just moments from Poole Quay and the town’s historic Old Town. The 13-storey building comprises 115 contemporary apartments, offering residents both modern living and a prime coastal location.
However, the original construction included significant fire safety concerns. Much of the external envelope was made from combustible materials, and many cavity barriers were either missing or insufficient. To meet updated building regulations and ensure resident safety, extensive remedial work was required.
Anamore Construction, specialists in cladding remediation, led the project to replace the building’s cladding system.
The solution involved installing 2,480 square metres of Valcan’s VitraDual aluminium panels, chosen in a palette of Silver Metallic, Mouse Grey, Signal Grey, and Signal White. These panels not only offered a sleek, modern aesthetic but were also well-suited to the coastal environment, thanks to their durable 5000-grade aluminium composition.
Fabricated into cassette panels, the VitraDual system was mounted using Valcan’s VitraFix carrier system, ensuring a secure and compliant installation across the building’s façade. The result is a safer, more resilient structure that maintains its visual appeal while meeting the latest fire safety standards.
The result is a safer, regulation-compliant building that retains its modern aesthetic while offering peace of mind to its occupants.
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.