Sherwin-Williams has supplied FIRETEX intumescent fire protective coatings to the Brunel Building, a 22,500 sqm workspace in London. The 16-floor construction features a 3.5m high column-free space throughout, due to its unique structural design.

Passive fire protection experts from Sherwin-Williams worked with the contractor Laing O’Rourke, structural engineers Arup and in collaboration with specialist structural steel supplier Severfield to ensure the interior and exterior steelwork was fire-protected for up to 60 minutes.

For the interior steelwork, FIRETEX C69 primer, FIRETEX FX2003 intumescent coating and FIRETEX M71V2 decorative topcoat was chosen. For the exterior steelwork, the solution was Macropoxy 400 primer, FIRETEX FX6000 intumescent coating and Acrolon C237 topcoat. The epoxy zinc phosphate primer and Certifire-approved intumescent coat were applied in shop, allowing the contractor to benefit from its fast-drying properties. The fire-tested and fully-approved acrylic urethane topcoat also offered strong colour retention to help maintain the Brunel Building’s striking aesthetic appearance.

Andy Luter, Senior Project Manager, Severfield said: “The architectural features and design required a fabricated steel which could be protected off-site and installed with minimum damage. The team at Sherwin-Williams offered a technical solution which allowed the exposed interior steel and exoskeleton to meet the desired fire protection levels without compromising on design or delivery.”

Rick Perkins, Global Technical Manager, at Sherwin-Williams, said: “The FIRETEX range of products allows us to coat steelwork off-site where relevant with fast drying times, resulting in minimal damage, as well as cost and time savings to help steel fabricators to meet their requirements for fire protection.”