The clothing and homeware retail company Next, relocated to a larger newly constructed store is now protected by Coopers Fire Smoke and Fire Curtains.
what was the client looking for?
The clothing and homeware retail company Next, relocated to a larger newly constructed store in Havant, UK. The old store consisted of 10,000 sq ft which has now increased in the new premises to 40,000 sq ft. Next, along with M&S will be part of the second phase of development at the Solent Retail Park in Havant to the west of the current stores that include Hobbycraft and Pets at Home.
The much larger store also consists of a Costa coffee on the first floor, helping to attract more shoppers to this already popular retail park in Hampshire.
HOW DID WE HELP?
Coopers Fire were pleased to have won the order for a local retail store and add another project to our portfolio of major retail stores that are protected by Coopers Fire smoke and fire curtains.
The Next and M&S stores were constructed by the main contractor ISG. Coopers have worked with ISG on multiple projects before and having a dedicated project manager from Coopers working with the fit out team, Oakwoods (www.oakwoodsuk.com), meant the
manufacture and installation of the smoke curtains was co-ordinated perfectly.
Coopers Fire installed three Coopers SmokeStop® smoke curtains on the first floor of the store at the edge of an atrium that spans from the ground floor to the first floor allowing natural light into building.
The three smoke curtains are located outside the Costa Coffee cafe and prevents smoke from spilling into the Next store should a fire break out.
The three SmokeStop D600A smoke curtains installed were all the same sizes and were 4.0 metres wide with a drop of 3.4 metres. The fire strategy required the smoke curtains to fully deploy to the floor and were retained in side guides.
In a retail environment it is regularly required that the smoke curtains are hidden from view until required and the Coopers Fire side guides and headbox allow for this. The headboxes were subtly installed above the ceiling line and the side guides hidden with the plasterboard meeting flush with the edge.
BENEFITS
Coopers Fire were able to work closely with Oakwoods on this project and as a manufacturer and installer that is fully project managed meant Coopers were able to ensure the final, fitted product satisfied the high quality finish required by such a major retailer store like Next. Coopers are Independently Third Party Certified for Product Testing and Installation.
Coopers fire and smoke curtains are recognised as the modern alternative to firewalls, fire doors and glazing, giving designers the freedom to design modern, open plan spaces without compromising fire safety. They are increasingly specified by designers as a solution for open plan designs.