Ibis Hotel, Leeds

Guest and staff safety is non-negotiable for hotels within the AccorInvest Group and the company has made the removal of combustible external cladding from higher risk buildings within its UK estate a high priority. Even before the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force AccorInvest’s programme of façade remediation was well underway. Everlast have carried out façade remediation on several other properties within Accor’s portfolio, including Novotel Greenwich and Novotel Birmingham, and we successfully tendered to be the main contractor on a project to remove and replace the existing façade at the group’s Ibis Budget Hotel in Leeds.

During the tender process we opened parts of the old façade and carried out extensive and intrusive surveys to determine its depth, the materials used and its structural integrity. These works were to assist the client’s design team in establishing a compliant approach to the façade remediation. The initial façade design intent was a collaboration across the client’s design team, comprising LMA Architects, Hydrock (fire engineers) and Simpsons (structural engineers) The detailed design was taken on by Everlast.

Having conducted the necessary ground and building load surveys we created a tailormade design for a cantilevered scaffolding system over the entrance, and another independent scaffold with access towers. Once erected, these scaffolds enabled external access to all twelve floors of the building without interfering with the hotel’s day to day operation. The multiple layers of material to be removed included the existing render (which incorporated polystyrene insulation) and zinc cladding with a timber sub-structure.

These were replaced with the installation of A2 Rated Soltherm External Wall Insulation (EWI) System and Rockpanel Premium rainscreens. Planning conditions required that the new façade had to match the appearance of the existing zinc cladding and Rockpanel was selected as a suitable equivalent. Throughout the program of works we liaised with the hotel management team, sequencing how and when work was undertaken, area by area, floor by floor. This close communication helped ensure disruption to the business and its guests was minimised. The project began in January 2022 and was completed in just four months.

The new façade gives AccorInvest the reassurance that the hotel complies with the Building Safety Act 2022. Stakeholders, staff and guests alike can sleep easy in the knowledge that the work to improve the fire resistance of the building has been carried out, and to the highest standard.

Everlast Group has worked on a variety of refurbishment and new build across all sectors