eekowall is a new and innovative offsite partition system which was honoured with the Sustainability Excellence of the Year Award at the 2022 John Sisk & Son Supply Chain Awards, which were held in the NEC Hilton Metropole, Birmingham.
Developed over the last three years , eekowall is the most advanced drylining offsite system available. It was developed as the need for a more sustainable approach to the delivery of construction projects is needed if the industry is to stay relevant into the future.
The system is extremely fast to install, reducing the install time versus traditional systems by 60%, which completely takes the partitioning install on a project off the critical path. It reduces labour requirements on site by up to 60% by making each operative more efficient in the install versus traditional systems. There is a 95% reduction in the amount plasterboard waste that is created which makes this a more sustainable offering than traditional systems
eekowall have worked closely with MTC and the Construction Innovation Hub over the last 24 months in helping deliver the Health Care Sandpit at the MTC in Coventry, which is the blueprint for the “kit of parts” build process . This is how eekowall sees projects being delivered in the future. The panels are currently installed in both the Healthcare sandpit and the MTC indoor sandpit at the MTC in Coventry.
eekowall were delighted to be among the winners at the awards which recognise excellence among Sisk’s supply chain partners across Ireland and Europe, and show appreciation for all the great work done together.
Sisk spends over €1 billion annually across its supply chain of almost 8,000 companies. Over 70 sub-contractors and suppliers were shortlisted for awards, having been nominated by each of Sisk’s business units and procurement respectively. Each business unit then selected its ‘Best Supply Chain Partner of the Year’ from the proposed shortlist following a thorough evaluation process.
“It’s absolutely brilliant for the whole team to receive the recognition at this stage after many years of hard work,” says Michael Reilly, who runs eekowall with Derek Platt.
“It is a great honor as eekowall is quite new to the market. The concept was only born in 2019 and two of the last three years have been spent designing and developing the system. It’s great to be recognised by a company like Sisk who we work closely with. It’s also great to win an award for sustainability as it’s something we place a strong emphasis on.”
Designed to meet all regulatory requirements in Ireland, the UK and Europe, many of the largest main contractors in the UK and Ireland have taken an interest in integrating this system in their projects such as Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, Cairn Homes, John Sisk & Son, Lendlease, Quintain and Mace Construction to name just a few.
The panels are currently being installed for SRM in the UK and eekowall are currently developing the design for the upcoming phase in the Wembley Park development in London which is being delivered by a partnership of Sisk and Quintain. In addition to this, eekowall are working on the CityWest residential project for Cairn Homes in Dublin.
“We have started installing the panels onsite and are working in tandem with Saint-Gobain, who are the biggest drylining supplier in Europe, to bring it to the international market,” Michael explains.
eekowall is a response to the construction industry to do things better, faster and greener by developing an offsite solution to traditional drylining that can also be a component of parts for a construction platform solution. This offsite partition system has been designed using a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA) approach. Michael and Derek’s ambition is to disrupt the traditional drylining market and make a significant impact on the Irish, UK and global economy.
Richard Hayworth, Head of Sector Development for Saint Gobain said: “We are really excited to be involved in developing the innovative eekowall system and share Michael and Derek’s enthusiasm for the future potential. The on site productivity benefits of the system are clearly visible and we look forward to the next stages of development with the eekowall team.”
Incredibly lightweight, the panels are designed to achieve the highest levels of fire, acoustic and stability performance, with virtually no waste materials produced onsite. With sophisticated technology, eekowall delivers a high-end experience, minimising noise in every environment.
The eekowall team will take your partition and lining layout drawings and provide a full eekowall panel design to match your project performance requirements. They can supply their panels directly to you to install or can supply and install them for you.
eekowall can be installed extremely quickly. Panels are constructed and delivered to site in the order they are required to be installed. Door and service openings are predetermined and formed within the panel design. The speed of eekowall system construction means M&E service installation can follow at pace, with final wall and ceiling linings and finishes being applied immediately after.
All eekowall fire-rated partitions and linings are constructed under controlled conditions, with no risk of mixed brand materials being introduced to fire-rated systems during the construction phase. Manufactured offsite within strict QA procedures, partition framing and fixings are pre-checked at the factory and are guaranteed to be right.
The deflection head details have been designed to avoid any unfixed contact between metal components, removing the risk of ‘Creaking Building Syndrome’ from the partition heads. This makes eekowall ideal for high-rise buildings such as offices, hospitals and apartments.
eekowall wireways are installed within the panel cavity to accommodate cable and socket installation. Likewise, non-combustible noggins are pre-installed to the panel cavity to facilitate the fixing of serviced and fitted furniture. In addition, eekowall party wall systems can achieve their fire and acoustic performances without finishing products being applied, meaning pods can be positioned to one side without the need to access the wall to apply ‘fire tape’. eekowall systems have been certified as non-combustible by Warrington Fire.
In summary, eekowall is economical, fast, lightweight, sustainable and efficient. The system is multi-functional, easy to manufacture and install, and is a simple certified design that exceeds fire, acoustic and impact requirements. It also significantly reduces the risks of manual handling, working at height and the generation of dust market opportunity.
In the UK alone, the drylining market is £3.9 billion. Just 1% of this market is £39 million. Michael and Derek aim to target at least 5-10% of this market and drive the use of their award-winning offsite solution in the coming years.
eekowall Ltd
70-80 Old Broad Street,
London,
EC2M 1QP.
Telephone: 020 3903 5777
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.eekowall.com
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, March 2023, Vol 9 No 3
