MEDITE ECOLOGIQUE MEETS PLAN A FOR MARKS & SPENCER ECO-STORE
1st May 2009 - Medite Ecologique
Medite Ecologique MDF was an essential part of the interior specification for the first brand-new Marks & Spencer ‘green' store, located at Silverburn Retail Park, on the outskirts of Glasgow.
As part of Plan A - M&S' £200 million, five year eco-plan - the 70,000 sq ft store was opened under M&S' latest signature style and incorporates a host of ‘eco-features' that significantly reduce its carbon footprint and improve its energy efficiency.
Niall Trafford, Executive of Store Design and Specification at Marks & Spencer, said “Making our stores more ‘eco-efficient' is a challenge that we are determined to tackle, especially if we are to meet M&S' target of becoming carbon neutral by 2012. Creating a new ‘green' store at Silverburn presented us with a great opportunity to trial and develop new technologies that have the potential to be rolled out in M&S stores across the UK.”
As well as the ‘eco-features', Architects 3DReid, engineers Faber Maunsell and contractor Laing O'Rourke required all suppliers to work in a ‘greener', more efficient way, and up to 80 per cent of waste and key construction off-cuts were recycled or reused. Suppliers were also required to use BREEAM* A-rated materials with low or non hazardous content wherever possible. This led to specification of Medite Ecologique, an FSC certified MDF panel with zero-added formaldehyde which was developed specifically for use in environmentally sensitive interior applications where formaldehyde emissions need to be kept to the minimum; ideal for ‘healthy' and ‘eco' buildings.
Geoff Rhodes, marketing & business development director for Coillte Panel Products, of which Medite is one division, says, “We have long experience working on construction projects around the world which need to meet strict criteria, and this is another example where a specific Medite technical MDF product has been able to satisfy and deliver against a specific architectural requirement”. Marks & Spencer also participated in Medite's 2016 initiative - the future looking think tank for timber and related industries - and presented their 5 year Plan A to the 2006 conference at the Royal Festival Hall.
Medite Ecologique is used for display cabinets and cases, furniture, fixtures and mouldings in environmentally sensitive areas such as museums, laboratories, art galleries, nursing homes, hospitals, nurseries and schools, and is being specified more and more frequently as eco-friendly building becomes more prevalent.
The Amsterdam Exhibition in De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, the National Waterfront Museum in Wales and the Museum of Islamic Arts in Qatar, are all projects which have required Medite Ecologique's unique properties.
Details on Medite Ecologique are available from www.medite-europe.com, and for more information on Medite 2016, visit www.medite2016.com.
