This is the famous East Sussex based company renowned for supplying pop icon Madonna with her fabulous "Nautilus" speakers, which cost over £35,000 per pair

A multi-purpose 1,000m² mezzanine structure was designed as part of a design and build unit at a new site adjacent to B & W's existing factory and warehouse in Worthing. The 6000mm high platform was designed to house the hi-fi speaker sanding, preparation and painting plant, together with associated raw materials and products storage for work in progress to these areas

The production facility accommodated both very wet areas and very dry areas, posing all kinds of interesting design problems for our Structural Engineers. Parts were exposed to highly damaging cellulose paints and other corrosive chemicals, whilst others were subjected to very high temperature curing oven and drying rooms

Special structural deck inserts, surface protection, insulation and sloping falls were required to create drainage and to ensure long term performance of the overall floor with minimal future maintenance

The entire structure was fully one hour fire protected with special high level safety loading facilities for fork truck operations

Exceptional beam spans were needed to avoid obstructing a long row of numerous large roller shutter doors into the warehouse areas at ground floor. The resultant high imposed loads to the slab meant special foundation bases had to be designed into the new slab at the concept stage. RDA's early involvement ensured the entire process was properly co-ordinated to a successful and timely conclusion at the most advantageous cost to the client

The Royal Opera House needed additional storage space for thousands of valuable costumes, but only had a narrow but tall building in Floral Street, Covent Garden available for the purpose. The building had a deep basement but this could not be used owing to problems of access, security and dampness which could damage the costumes

A horseshoe shape two level gallery mezzanine structure was designed to make the best use of the very restricted available space, whilst maintaining easy access, good air circulation and the lowest possible imposed loads to the basement slab

The mezzanine columns were designed to extend through the existing timber joist and floorboard ground level to bear onto the concrete basement floor, which involved creating pockets in the floor and splicing beams and columns to fit into very restricted spaces where manoeuvrability was difficult

A new compact design Department Store for the Allders Group required a mezzanine floor to increase retail display and ancillary space. The installation by RDA comprised a 2,000m² steel structure, which also incorporated areas of stockroom, plant room and staff amenities to the rear

The steelwork was designed with exceptionally limited deflection to ensure a high performance deck surface for the comfort of the public accessing the floor. Numerous perimeter cantilevers were used to minimise numbers of columns to avoid obstructing valuable ground floor space and the shop-fittings

Moisture resistant high-density particleboard decking material was used to comply with BRE Digest 437 particularly because WC Blocks and other Staff Amenities are located on the mezzanine floor

Superbly engineered steel staircases and bespoke balustrade systems complete the high quality retail environment

A small independent new operator coming into the self storage marketplace for the first time, with a redundant agricultural building to convert for the purpose; which incidentally won a prestigious local industry award for the best use and conversion of its type in the Midlands Area.

The first scheme over 1,000m² was done in two phases designed to be a discrete self-contained installation to begin with, but with the possibility to easily extend with minimal cost and disruption later as the business grew.

The mezzanine floor included one hour fire protection to the structure owing to the public access and this was done in a durable Fireline board cladding for longevity and good looks. White Plastisol faced profile steel panelling was used to create a wide range of storage units from 2.5 to 50m².

In keeping with the rural setting and theme, Heritage Green steel doors were used internally and agricultural green cladding was used to refurbish the unit externally.

The site’s unique location adjacent to a Heritage Wood also operated by the same Morley family meant it would attract a wide range of local “landed gentry” type clientele, so the emphasis was very much on a high quality and attractive appearance.

A second major development was subsequently carried out for the same client at The Towers Business Park, Rugeley in Staffordshire.

McDermid Canning needed to create an additional production facility for the manufacture of a new range of automotive chemical products, which required a major new chemical mixing facility and quality testing laboratory on their existing site

The main mezzanine level at 4.2 metres high accommodates control equipment, chemical inflow into 11 no large mixing tanks and a laboratory and office complex

An upper walkway at 6.9 metres high extends the entire length of the platform, providing access to all high level services as well as suspended services support and control equipment mounting

The chemical tanks are ground-floor standing but pass through the durbar steel deck surface at plant platform level, where a "no loss" standard is rigidly maintained by the use of fully welded deck plates and perimeter toeboards, with a special resin coating to the deck to create a fully "tanked" surface. A special sump was created directly beneath the upper walkway as an added safeguard to catch any spillages when servicing pipes, valves and hoses etc

A wide range of load capacities were required across the various floor areas and levels, from lightweight office, to large flow pipes, to 1200 Kgs pallets of raw materials which are used in the mixing tanks

Jatco Leamington Spa Ltd are a Japanese firm specialising in the design and testing of transmission systems for high quality cars. Jatco needed to increase their office space to accommodate extra staff, plus create additional Video Training and Conferencing facilities for client visits

The existing one hour brick built two storey office module to the front of the production unit needed to be extended but this could not be achieved externally owing to planning permission problems and cost constraints

Instead the installation of a free-standing mezzanine floor structure, to align with the existing office concrete floor within the adjacent fire compartment, was constructed

The mezzanine floor was designed to be of the highest performance standard with an exceptional deflection limit to the deck support steelwork. This ensured that the "feel" when walking from the existing concrete floor onto the timber decked mezzanine would be as similar and comfortable as possible - with minimal bounce and excellent rigidity

The existing one hour fire compartment conditions had to be re-created at the new mezzanine perimeter, where the original compartment had been broken through to access the new accommodation areas. RDA therefore had to install full roof height jumbo stud partitions to achieve this requirement. Internal partitions and suspended ceilings of the commercial composite type created the Director's Suite, Training and Video Rooms, where a clean modern appearance with soundproofing of a high standard was critical

The mezzanine was erected over the top of an existing breezeblock construction site office, which entailed the use of some extremely long beam sections, carefully lifted into place with special crane equipment for safe overhead working

RDA also designed and provided all ancillary services to the new partitioned accommodation including forced air ventilation, air conditioning to Video rooms, Category II lighting, electrics, plumbing and heating

BOC needed to develop a major new garment handling, storage and distribution facility within their existing building at Swindon to service a massive supply chain contract for Marks & Spencer Plc

A 10,000 square metre three mezzanine floor was designed to support a garment storage facility with the ground floor dedicated to the movement, marshalling, receipt and despatch of garments via overhead conveyors

The structure is partially rack supported to over 11 metres. Elsewhere it is partially free-standing mezzanine floor to provide additional marshalling areas, equipment and staff access, materials handling installations and amenities

The rack supported decking is pressed steel plank, whilst the surrounding mezzanine areas are high density particle board. Open steel decking is used as part of the fire engineered solution to enable sprinklers to operate throughout all levels when necessary

Owing to the very considerable height of the structure perimeters were protected with 2000mm high mesh panels for operator comfort. Special safety trays were suspended between garments racks and access walkways as an added safeguard in case of product ever becoming dislodged from racks or overhead conveyors

This is the famous High Street optical specialist which has experienced such rapid growth and success in recent years

As a result SpecSavers needed to develop a multi-purpose 900m² mezzanine structure designed as part of a large new building fit-out to house their expanded production, storage, administration and telephone sales operations

The 3300mm high platform was designed in three connected but discrete segments to house the different functions within the factory, including tons of ventilation plant, production offices and laboratories and both raw materials and finished goods storage

The unusual horseshoe shape gallery arrangement enabled the main factory floor and its 70 production staff to benefit from good natural light and a spacious airy feel. Ease of movement of production machinery and equipment in the future was also a feature SpecSavers needed to guarantee for the long term development of their business

The mezzanine houses office and laboratory accommodation beneath on all three sides, allowing the ceilings to the various rooms, plus all services, to be supported and suspended directly off the mezzanine structure, which was designed with additional services loads to accept this

The entire structure was half hour fire protected and incorporated both industrial access and fire escape stairs, plus commercial quality staircases for office access from the main entrance

Having worked with Fitzpatricks on several major mezzanine floor installations over the years, including a large two tier furniture storage structure for Heals in North West London, RDA were asked to assist with the fitting out of a large new USA wine company’s production facility in Bristol

Works involved the design and installation of an 8.0 metre high walkway gantry around two sides of the huge wine production hall, totalling 500 running metres

In addition, fully galvanised tower staircases were installed to provide access at each end of the walkways, plus link bridges to enable staff in the adjacent three storey office block to visit the production hall with visitors without having to pass through the actual production areas at ground floor

Production plant and air handling equipment platforms, one internal and one external, were constructed in an adjacent unit, with heavy duty open steel grate decks and galvanised staircases

Over a 2 year period between 2003 and 2005, high Street retailer Next considerably increased their number of outlets. This necessitated in the Distribution arm of Next having to provide further capacity to their existing distribution network. As a result a new site was developed in Wath upon Dearne, near Rotherham

The site was to start development in 2006 with it going operational in mid 2008. One of 2 units was to provide a fully automated tote storage, retrieval and sortation system. The crane retrieval, tote location and sortation scheme required a complex 3 level conveyor system, incorporating a 24,000 m2 two tier mezzanine floor

Vanderlande were to provide the conveyor system , while Next brought in RDA Projects to design, supply and install the 2 tier mezzanine structure, fire protection and staircase enclosures. The mezzanine was design to specific load requirements including up-rating the joists in various locations

The mezzanine started at the end of October 2006 with a 20 week built time, and was achieved a head of programme. The following fire protection works continued for a further 10 months carefully integrating with the sprinkler systems, smoke extraction and the considerable electrical requirements

A major independent furniture retailer with several prestigious locations in the North and West, opening a new store and the Sealand Estate in Chester

The scheme comprised 2,000m² of retail display mezzanine with very large spans for a large uninterrupted grid at ground floor. Piling was carried out to support the very high imposed loads

The existing building was structurally altered whilst the mezzanine floor was in train, hence a substantial part of the construction took place whilst the unit was exposed to the weather and had no glazing in situ

The trimming of the deck boards on the structure had to be done before the final cladding and glazing were completed, which made for interesting work sequencing and protection requirements

The mezzanine floor included one hour fire protection to the structure owing to public access and also a very high quality brushed stainless and safety glass balustrade system

What made this project so interesting was the build method and also the application. Hertford Regional College had, over the summer, a brief opportunity to completely revamp their bricklaying and joinery training facilities as part of a major college development for them by Morgan Ashurst, valued at over £60 million

The existing Green Tye building was ear-marked for complete refurbishment both internally and externally, which involved new cladding and curtain wall gazing, as well as completely new ground and first floor classroom and workshop accommodation

RDA were called in to design a horse-shoe shaped 900 square metre mezzanine structure to accommodate classrooms at first floor, with an open atrium in the centre, to make the best of the natural light available from the new roof to the bricklaying training areas on the ground floor slab

With extremely limited headroom, but large clear spans essential, RDA designed an exceptionally slim structure using universal columns as beams, with column loads supported on foundations within the existing slab

To further reduce the overall floor section, a direct screw fix cladding was provided to achieve one hour fire rating, with exposed steelwork being site-applied with one hour intumescent paint

A robust, durable and ultra-safe balustrade system was required to protect the open atrium edges where students are moving around all day, so a mild steel powder coated construction with perforated steel infill panels was used, continuing around the main access staircases too

With only three weeks available to construct the mezzanine floor and with much of the works having to be done whilst the building was not weather-tight, the programme was a great challenge, but the completed installation was delivered on time and within budget, whilst achieving the highest levels of safety provision with this leading main contractor

RDA were commissioned by the Estates Department of Anglia House Co-Op to fully design and build a complete retail mezzanine floor solution in their new flagship store at Kings Lynn

The single most demanding aspect of the project was the extremely limited headroom in the building, which meant that the overall floor section had to be kept to an absolute minimum. But at the same time, the structural soffit needed to accommodate a huge quantity of services including recessed lighting, electrics, sprinkler pipes, air conditioning cassettes and refrigerant pipework – all of which also had to maintain the fire rating to the mezzanine structure

Over-riding all these considerations was the necessity for a large column grid layout to enable different room-sets to be constructed at ground floor and to ensure total flexibility in future use

RDA designed the mezzanine floor with universal columns as main beams, with perforations in the beam webs to allow for the passage of services through the floor section, so as to avoid having to provide a deep ceiling void, which would have compromised the already-limited available headroom

Foundations were provided to support the large grid column loads and fire compartmentation ensured that public use fire escape provision was achieved. RDA acted as ;principle Contractor for the scheme and project managed the entire fit-out apart from the actual room-set installation which were done by Anglia Co-Op’s own specialists after our completion

For over 8 years RDA have been one of Next retail’s leading designers and installers of retail mezzanine floors and have built dozens of such floors all over the UK

Originally, RDA were approached to fabricate and install mezzanines to various consulting engineer’s steelwork designs, but we soon realised that the generalist approach was resulting in considerably over-engineered solution at far higher cost than was necessary

So, RDA set about a detailed study to understand Next’s exact objectives and requirements and demonstrate how these could be best achieved at the lowest possible cost. We were instrumental in a complete overhaul of Next’s specification and procurement methods and have saved them, on average, over £30,000 on every single mezzanine floor installed since that exercise was undertaken

Most Next mezzanines are around 900 square metres in area, represent 95% of their retail unit footprint and are for the accommodation of menswear and home-wares departments plus staff amenities

RDA work closely with many of Next’s approved shop-fitters and other providers, via their Estates Department at Enderby, to develop mezzanine solution in a wide range of retail settings. Shop-fitters include D S Collinge, Exeter Shopfitting, Central Shopfitters, Carey & Greenslade, G T Morgan Ltd, Nason Foster Ltd, Powells Shopfitting Services, Radius Shopfitters, Whittakers, Keystone Design & Build, Rose Turnkey Solutions & Witheys

Our long-standing relationship with Next Retail was directly instrumental in our developing contact with the distribution side of the business, which led to the largest single mezzanine contract ever carried out by RDA at Wath Upon Dearne. See separate Case Study

RDA have always focussed primarily on the construction industry client, serving leading main contractors and design and build specialists. This project was a classic example of perfect co-operation between sub-contract trades on a major new site

TNT Express secured a long-term contract to store and distribute parts for automotive giant VW/Audi and required a new distribution centre to operate from. The unit at Dordon was designed and built by Bowmer & Kirkland with the three level mezzanine structure main steel frame being constructed as part of the initial build by Atlas Ward

RDA were invited to provide a complete decking and accessorising service to this basic structural frame, including deck support steelwork, high density particle board decking, tower staircases, handrails And loading facilities

The fire engineering solution for this installation was unusual in that approval was granted for the three tier mezzanine to be erected without fire protection to the soffits. Only the main steelwork was intumescent painted to one hour degree

To allow for smoke detection and dissipation, the mezzanine floor surface was constructed with large areas of open steel grate inserted to sit level with the main surrounding timber deck. The steel grate areas were designed to flow in the designated storage racking access aisles and transverse gangways to ensure that they would never become covered or obscured

The photographs show one level of decking before being fitted with the racking installation and the same level later fully fitted out, so that the open grate aisles are clearly visible

The design co-ordination and integration for this hybrid deck and its interface with the following storage installation was just about the most complicated ever done by RDA, particularly as the nature and extent of structural support required for the two deck media was completely different, but had to work in the same plane and at the same level throughout

Since this project, RDA have worked regularly with B & K on retail, industrial, production and distribution projects throughout the UK including the largest single RDA project undertaken to date at Next Distribution, Wath Upon Dearne. See separate case study for details

Nottingham University acquired the old Central Television site and turned it into the Kings Meadow Campus. Two of the large TV Studios were converted into new historical document and archive stores., owing to their exceptional existing fire protection standards

RDA were asked to design an integrated mezzanine floor and archive storage shelving system into the two studios, to provide a wide range of storage options for everything from individual maps to large manuscripts and books

The mezzanines were designed to enable the minimum of works being necessary to the existing studios, to save enabling costs. Hence, much of the studio lighting and other equipment remained in situ and had to be worked around

A special fully galvanised steel shelving system, offering the widest possible flexibility in configuration and use, was installed at ground and mezzanine levels to achieve maximum density storage with 100% document selectivity

Means of escape from the mezzanines were enhanced by designing them to link to existing walkways and gantries around the studios at high level, which had been used previously for access to lighting equipment etc

QIC - suppliers of aluminium extrusions and fabrications – asked for a visit to discuss their need to create a materials handling system for the safe storage of lengths of aluminium bar and sheet; materials which had previously been stored on the floor, thus preventing full selectivity and causing damage.

Apart from poor accessibility, damage and limited selectivity, QIC were wasting a large amount of valuable floor space, which they needed to free up for other operations. By seeking to use the full available height within their unit, with the appropriate safe handling methodology, QIC hoped to solve all their problems with one integrated solution.

To complicate matters further, QIC needed a system which could store all of their variously sized products on a rack installation that would afford them total flexibility in use. To ensure that this most important criteria was properly satisfied, QIC’s suppliers were contacted to discuss and analyse the different product specifications stocked.

A dedicated storage area was designated and designs drawn up to optimise the use of the space. It was also important that the new racking should be compatible with QIC’s existing fork lift trucks.

They wanted to separate the factory from the storage area and still achieve an increase in storage capacity by over 60%. The fabricated rack solution provided exceeded all their expectations.