INCA EWI Case Study: Berkeley Square, Salford

Berkeley Square is a new luxury 500-apartment residential development nestled between MediaCity in Salford and Manchester city centre, with a focus on community, wellness and connectivity.

The Heaton Group’s waterside development includes one, two and three bedroom apartments built among a beautiful central square landscaped to encourage wellness and provide a premier living space that is perfect for professionals, families and first-time buyers.

Berkeley square includes elevations with storeys of five, six, seven, eight, nine and 10.

It features a total product volume of 7500 sqm of Aliva’s A1 fire rated, Kiwa UK certified EWI clay brick slip system AlivaBrick.

Design and aesthetics:

Berkeley Square forms part of the wider Ordsall Lane Regeneration Area in Salford, which has seen a number of brick/brick effect new build projects brought to market on this road, which is an arterial route bridging Manchester city centre to Salford and the MediaCity complex.

As well as a number of up and coming residential developments, Ordsall Lane is also home to commercial business parks used by the creative industries as well as the historic Ordsall Hall, A Tudor manor house which dates back 600 years. Ordsall Hall, features black and white timber and traditional brickwork, and is a museum and event hire space today.

Berkeley Square is on the opposite side of the road to Ordsall Hall, slightly offset on a diagonal, it was essential that the aesthetic of this new build was entirely visually sympathetic to this historic hall, the oldest building in Salford.

The tones and textures of the two brick slips chosen are a direct complement to Ordsall Hall, as a Grade I listed building.

They are also in-keeping with the visual aesthetic that has been created as the residential developments continue to span further down Ordsall Lane from the Manchester city centre direction.

The AlivaBrick slip system shows its versatility on this project, it respects the past as well as creating a contemporary aesthetic for the residents of its domestic and commercial buildings today.

The completion of Berkeley Square marks the first stage in this planned Heaton Group development, with a second phase Tranquillity under construction and due for completion in August 2026.

The EWI system detail:

The AlivaBrick EWI mineral wool system in two tones was installed with a total product volume of 7,500 sqm.

The system included mineral wool in thicknesses of 50, 80mm and 190mm. The system is Kiwa UK certified and A1 fire rated.

The slips have been installed in a standard stretcher course with bespoke extruded pistol corner and lintel header profiles.

The project includes a ladder step detail where the system installed comprised of a 15mm thick slip and a corresponding 25mm thick slip.

How the product was installed:

The system was installed over a lightweight steel frame with a 12mm cement particle board to the outer-face. The lightweight studs were infilled with mineral wool and finished internally with a Vapour Control membrane and 2 layers of gypsum plasterboard.

The Aliva system was directly fixed using specified mechanical fixings, with the insulation layer installed board-by-board, including a cementitious levelling layer to the rear of the insulation. This allowed any tolerances within the frame to be adjusted, and a vertically level face provided for subsequent layers.

The required number of fixings were installed, using engineered wind calculations. Once the boards were installed reinforced cement basecoat layers were applied. The first, allowed the insertion of a reinforcing mesh, lapped to create a monolithic covering across the entire facade. This mesh was also mechanically fixed with stainless steel fixings and washers to comply with fire requirements and to provide additional robust mechanical fix to the system. Once the final layer of basecoat was applied and smoothed the basecoat was allowed to cure.

Once cured, the cement-based bedding mortar was applied to the surface and the 15 and 25mm clay slips installed by embedding the slips into the bedding mortar. Full embedment was achieved, ensuring the clay slips had full surface area contact. This continued to achieve the facade. The clay slips were then pointed with a robust cement-based Aliva pointing grout and struck to achieve the final finish.

Technical excellence:

As above, the AlivaBrick system is Kiwa UK certified and is A1 fire rated.

The system is tested and certified to the relevant European and UK standards.

The system is suitable for new build and refurbishment projects and can be installed without height or boundary restriction.

With a lack of brick layers in the UK, slip systems are a growing market within UK construction.

Speed of installation, weight of the system and reduced storage space are all key factors which are driving the market and the systems are commercially attractive.

Aliva works with clients, main contractors, architects and installers to ensure design intent is met, sustainability credentials are provided and the final outcome provides a robust, thermally compliant and sustainable approach whilst maintaining the traditional brick aesthetic.

Installation quality:

The main contractor on the project was The Heaton Group and Aliva’s EWI system installer was Stoneguard Projects (North) Ltd. The quality of the installation speaks for itself. Two tones of brick slip immaculately installed horizontally and vertically across the development with reliability and repetition.

Performance outcomes:

There were several interfaces across the whole project with U-Values achieved between 0.11W/m2k – 0.18W/m2k.

Additionally, the AlivaBrick system also reduced material and weight on the project plus brick slip production requires approximately 85% less energy than conventional brick production, adding to the NZC contribution.

External Wall Insulation systems are fabric-first solutions and at the forefront of MMC. Given 45% of the heat in a building is lost through its walls, EWI is a must for any energy-conscious project, improving thermal values, reducing energy consumption for the betterment of the planet and residents’ energy bills. MMC also brings greater agility to a project, including faster construction times, improved quality control, cost savings and sustainability.

Project challenge and innovation:

Steve McKenna, Operations Manager, from Aliva’s facade installation partner company Stoneguard, an INCA member, is best placed to answer this theme covering project logistics and installation.

“This was a central Salford location, close to main arterial routes into Manchester, so access and logistics had to be carefully coordinated.

 

“Access was in close proximity to existing occupied high rise private residential buildings, business premises, tram lines and the Grade I listed Ordsall Hall.

 

“Given the location, careful planning was essential to avoid disruption to local infrastructure and maintain safety on and around the site.

 

“All deliveries were pre-booked via a dedicated online system, with a minimum 48-hour notice period, and long-range scheduling available to help with consistency. Timed delivery slots helped avoid traffic build-up, and we coordinated necessary equipment (forklifts or mobile cranes) for each drop.

 

“Deliveries were only allowed between 8am and 5pm, and weekend work was silent or low-impact only, no heavy plant or noisy operations.

 

“To ensure everything stayed on track, Daily Activity Briefings (DABS) took place at 7.30am with all subcontractors, external site managers, and the main contractor managers. These briefings were essential for aligning day-to-day tasks, reviewing safety, and coordinating logistics. In addition, we had a weekly progress meeting with all key stakeholders to monitor performance and manage upcoming phases of work.

 

“Key to the smooth running of the site was a number of gate accesses, so as a particular elevation was completed and occupied the live areas of the site still ran smoothly.

 

“Together, all these measures ensured the project stayed organised, safe and considerate to the surrounding area.”