Far East Façade, the London based subsidiary of Far East Global Group, has won the coveted contract to design and supply curtain walling for the striking Squire and Partners designed 37 storey tower, known as ‘One the Elephant’, which is widely recognised as the centre piece of London’s Elephant and Castle regeneration project.
The stunning mixed-use skyscraper is part of Southwark council’s massive regeneration programme for the area. The construction phase of the £3 billion programme was officially launched last month by the Major of London, Boris Johnson. The Major joined representatives from Southwark council and Lend Lease, who is spearheading the development, to mark the start of the build phase.
Lend Lease has chosen leading curtain wall contractor Far East Façade for the project following a highly competitive bid process. Well-known in the construction industry for providing the curtain walling to major projects internationally, including the world’s tallest building, the iconic Burj Khalifa in Dubai. This latest deal, on such a significant project, acknowledges the strength of the company’s technical knowledge and experience here in the UK. This contract win swiftly follows on from Far East Façade’s deal earlier this year to provide the curtain wall for the prestigious London office development at 71 Queen Victoria Street, a project which is planned to complete early in 2014.
Managing Director of Far East Facade, Peter Walker, said: “One the Elephant is a fantastic opportunity to further demonstrate Far East Façade’s capabilities in the UK market. We are thrilled to be an integral part of such a significant project for our client, Lend lease. This is an exciting challenge for our London team, with Squire and Partner’s design including some really interesting architectural elements, as well as being a Code 4 sustainability build.”
He continued: “Far East brings to this project a track record of delivering technically challenging structures worldwide, combined with the advantage of having a strong UK project team backed by extensive global resources. Success in the UK market is mirrored across the Group, with Far East Global Group 2013 order book showing a year on year increase of 170%. A series of major contract wins this year - particularly in the North American market – include a number of projects with big name UK and European contractors such as Laing O’Rourke, Bouygues and Skanska.”
Far East Group operates 5 production plants - two in China and three in North America - with a combined annual capacity of over 1 million square metres of curtain wall. Product for the OTE project will be fabricated in the 150,000 sq.ft. facility in Alden, New York.