The Forge aspires to be the first commercial building constructed and operated in line with the UKGBC’s net zero definition and energy reduction targets. It comprises two new office buildings and a public courtyard. Located in Sumner Street, The Forge is a Landsec office development located just behind Tate Modern in London and is one of the most innovative construction sites in London, pioneering several new construction methods fit for the decades ahead. Breaking new ground, the project will be the world’s first large-scale office scheme to be built using a standardised “kit of parts”, in an approach known as ‘platform design for manufacture and assembly’ (P-DfMA), which applies the advances made by the manufacturing industry to construction.

Systems supplied by Aluprof were fabricated and installed by NACWL and consisted of Aluprof's MB-SE120. The finish externally on the systems is a mixture of three shades bronze anodised aluminium.

This bespoke system from Aluprof for this project is finished in three shades of bronze anodising which offers a sustainable finish and an aesthetic appearance for many decades to come. The new system was designed with a standard +/-15mm stack joint for to accommodate the building movement, as well as an impressive non-standard stack joint for the 7th floor which had to accommodate a +20/-30mm movement. The project also has a range of external feature fins with concealed fixing to provide the building with sight-lines of 120mm and 170mm that project 125mm or 225mm from glazing line.”

The unitised curtain wall has been designed in close collaboration with Bryden Wood, which allowed Aluprof to develop a highly-efficient façade unit. The full-size mock-up unit has been rigorously tested in Aluprof’s Research and Innovation Centre in Ogrodzona where it passed air leakage, impact, wind resistance, and water penetration tests. The units were transported in purpose designed, reusable stillages which were then lifted to the floor plates using a combination of large material hoists and tower cranes for installation by specialist installers NACWL. A key feature of the stillage design was to protect the units from any stress and impact during transportation and lift. The new bespoke system has been named as MB-SE120 and has a UW value of <1.3 W(m2K).