Fire-Rated Construction Screens for Durham Council Headquarters

Construction Screens

Key Facts

• Client: Kier Construction (Scotland & North East)
• Project: Durham Council Headquarters
• Scope: Ground floor + Levels 1–3, approximately 2,485m² total across two phases
• Location: Durham
• Material: Rhino 300 micron fire-retardant film, EN13501

The Problem

Durham Council's new headquarters was being fitted out as a multi-storey steel-framed structure, exposed to the elements across several open floor levels, temporary staircases and multiple access points. The building needed to be closed off ahead of the envelope going on, without holding up the fit-out programme underneath.

The specification called for temporary screening able to protect completed and in-progress work from wind, rain and dust, while meeting a fire-retardant classification appropriate for a large, occupied town-centre site.

With over 1,600m² to be screened across the ground floor and three upper levels, both material performance and a properly engineered fixing method were critical a wrap alone wasn't enough without a fixing system that could carry it cleanly across each level for the length of the programme.

The Solution

Rhino Shrink Wrap specified 300 micron fire-retardant film, certified to EN13501, for the full scope of the project a grade selected for the combination of tear resistance, UV stability and fire performance needed for a screening system expected to remain in place across a multi-month construction programme, rather than a short-term wrap.

To support a clean, structurally sound fixing method, Rhino prepared a temporary works design ahead of installation, engineering the batten framework that would carry the film across each level.

The approach followed a consistent picture-frame principle: fixing batten run along the floor, ceiling and door/access openings on each level to create a rigid perimeter for the film to be fixed to, rather than relying on ad-hoc fixing points.

This is the detail visible in the site photography the trapping batten forming a continuous frame around each screened bay, with openings built in cleanly for staircases and site access.

The screening was specified and supplied across two phases as the building's construction progressed, rather than as a single fixed scope:

• Phase I, August–September 2020: Ground floor and Levels 1–3 screened as each floor slab was completed, totalling approximately 1,690m² of fire-retardant film fixed to just under 1,000 linear metres of batten.
• Phase II, September–October 2020: A further approximately 795m² added across Levels 1 and 2 as the building progressed, with Level 3 screening following once the concrete slab was complete.

Phasing the material this way allowed the screening to track the build programme, rather than the programme having to work around it.

The Result

Across both phases, over 2,480m² of certified fire-retardant film was specified and supplied for the project, supported by a purpose-built temporary works design for the fixing system.

The result was a screening solution matched to the technical demands of a live, multi-storey construction site — protecting the works, meeting fire performance requirements, and holding up cleanly across a build programme spanning several months.

Need Fire-Rated Construction Screens?

For guidance on specifying the right material and fixing method for your site, talk to the Rhino team.