Cast Stone Products Used Extensively in Mosque Construction
Included in the schedule were decorative stonework, heads, stringers, window and door surrounds and large decorative coping units. These items, all to bespoke designs, had an Aire stone finish to complement the natural stone and other materials used in the building, and many were very large – some being up to approximately 2m long by 1.2m wide.
Because of the weight of many of the items, integral lifting hooks were cast in to facilitate mechanical handling on site. Moreover, in some cases the cast stone units were craned directly from the lorry to the final position, thereby minimising the handling and maximising site efficiency.
The architect, Alan Priest of Priest Woodward Associates, comments: “I have specified cast stone on other projects and always been pleased with the results. For the mosque, the large number of bespoke items and the high repetition lent itself perfectly to casting rather than fashioning from natural stone.”
Alan Priest wrote a performance specification and passed this, together with the appropriate drawings, to the main contractor who then selected Procter on the basis of a competitive tendering process. Manufacturing and testing of the mosque cast stone units was carried out to BS 1217 (Cast stone. Specification) and, where appropriate, individual items were reinforced in accordance with BS 4449 (Steel for the reinforcement of concrete. Weldable reinforcing steel. Bar, coil and decoiled product. Specification).
Mr CAG Khan, who is on the committee of the Islamic Cultural and Educational Association, says: “There is no doubt that using cast stone has saved us a large amount of money; natural stone would have been much more expensive.”
Procter has a tradition of excellence and craftsmanship that dates back over 270 years, though many of the design and manufacturing processes used to produce cast stone products are truly state-of-the-art. Procter looks to develop long-term relationships with customers by delivering high-quality products and reliable personal service. In every project, large or small, a dedicated planner is assigned to ensure that every aspect of the work meets with the customer’s requirements.
To assist in the process of specifying standard products or bespoke units as used in the Bradford mosque, Procter Caststone & Concrete Products has published Understanding Cast Stone, a Guide to Cast Stone Products for Architects and Specifiers. This is available as a PDF file free of charge from the Downloads page of the website or it can be requested by telephoning us or emailing info@newlayconcrete.com