Hawksmoor Air Street restaurant

Armourcoat polished plaster has been specified for the Hawksmoor Air Street restaurant in London.  Located on the first floor of Regent Street’s grand crescent, the restaurant and cocktail bar are inspired by the Piccadilly location - the heart of Art Deco London.

Nottingham-based interior architecture and design studio Macaulay Sinclair worked with owner Huw Gott, to create a glamorous interior paying homage to the classic Art Deco era.  As with all Hawksmoor locations, reclaimed materials have been used throughout to create a comfortable lived-in feel.

Entering the ground floor foyer the space is dominated by a sumptuous sweeping, elliptical marble staircase with black Armourcoat ‘SMG’ polished plaster walls, illuminated overhead by bespoke handcrafted chandeliers.  ‘SMG’ is a super luxury hand-applied wall finish with the appearance of a seamless high-gloss 'lacquer' effect, with no surface movement visible.

Ecobuild prep

We're getting ready for Ecobuild (#S751, ExCeL London, 20-22 March) with some stunning original polished plaster designs.

The two below use vinyl stencils to create a recessed effect, the vinyl is removed to reveal the background finish.  The concrete grey tree form is a brand new design for the show, the pink and white free-form design is based on a finish created for 'Chop Wok'.  Both finishes are created from polished plaster, which incorporate 40% recycled marble.  Armourcoat products are made in the UK.

India advertising

Great to see continued support for the Armourcoat brand in India - from our local agent in Bangalore.  A new ad campaign in 'InsideOutside' magazine commenced in January, the current ad can be seen below.

Marble Lite

Armourcoat is included in the product development pages of US magazine Architectural Products (Jan/Feb 2012) - featuring Severn Trent Water’s new £60m operations centre in Coventry, UK.

The building - which aims to set new industry standards with one of the lowest carbon footprints for any UK office building - incorporates equally eco-friendly Armourcoat polished plaster.  Designed by Birmingham-based Webb Gray Architects, and built by BAM Construction, this highly-sophisticated energy efficient building features the latest eco-tec - and achieved a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating.

Armourcoat was used within the reception and main atrium space, to create a stunning and original design statement.  Totaling nearly four hundred square metres of hand-applied decorative plaster, Webb Gray specified colourfade artwork for feature panels and curved walls using Armourcoat Spatulata.  For the 30-metre high atrium panels, artisan plasterers blended over seventy colours of paste to achieve the seamless finish.

Scoop Australia

The Polished Plaster Company - Armourcoat's agent for Western Australia - will feature in Scoop's 2012 Best Commercial Building & Design magazine.

The magazine showcases inspirational designs from leading architects, builders and designers in WA.  One of four titles that make up the Scoop Building & Renovation series, the magazine has become an essential guide for corporate WA looking to build or refit their commercial space, and a major reference guide for more than 800 architecture, building and design firms in WA.

Going ECO

Armourcoat will be exhibiting at Ecobuild in March (stand S571, ExCeL London, 20-22 March) the world’s biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment.

As an industry leader, Armourcoat recognizes its obligation to manufacture green products. Core product lines are made from natural minerals, predominately pre-consumer recycled marble which can account for up to 40% of the product recipe.  Reduction of the company’s carbon footprint has been realized in 2012 with the introduction of region specific pre-cast manufacturing in the USA, Middle East and Far East.

Last year Armourcoat introduced Ductal® from Lafarge - a revolutionary ultra-high performance cement composite material with outstanding characteristics that are unique in the world of mineral building materials.  Ductal® will be presented at the show, alongside the stunning range of decorative surface solutions from Armourcoat.

Exhibitions 2012

The Armourcoat events schedule is already pretty comprehensive for next year!  These are the confirmed dates and exhibitions to December - more to advise shortly;

• EcoBuild, United Kingdom (20-22 March)
• MosBuild, Russia (2-5 April)
• Hospitality Design, USA (15-17 May)
• 100% Design, United Kingdom (20-23 September)
• Index, Dubai (24-27 September)
• NeoCon East, USA (November)

Harrison Medical Center

Armourcoat Spatulata has been specified for use at the new Heart and Vascular Center at Harrison Medical Center, Bremerton WA.

Local architects Rice Fergus Miller have used the distinctive wall finish to act as a memorable landmark within the reception space, and complement the curved cherry entrance wall and site branding.

The Spatulata finish is pure luxury. Pioneered by the Egyptians, improved by the Romans, it became known as 'stucco lustro veneziano' by the Venetians. Modern additives have greatly improved the working characteristics enabling it to be successfully applied in just 3-4 layers and polished to a glassy shine with a small steel blade or trowel.

The $14.6 million Heart and Vascular Center - serving the healthcare needs of residents in a four-county area on the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas - is designed for clinical efficiency while at the same time enhancing quality of care and increasing patient safety.