THE new schools at Les Nicolles will have something in common with London’s famous ‘gherkin’ building. Construction materials used to create the internal structures of the award-winning Swiss Re Tower were made by the same company that is supplying more than 500 tonnes of masonry for the new schools.

It is a link that the local project also shares with many other well known buildings, including Canary Wharf and Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok Stadium.

The manufacturer, Lignacite, was in Guernsey to give a seminar for construction industry professionals outlining some of the requirements of working with these materials. The event was the first in this year’s Norman Piette best-practice seminars and was attended by more than 60 delegates from the trade, including architects, surveyors, builders and engineers.

The Lignacite material being used on the new schools is known as architectural facing masonry and is supplied in machine-made pre-formed concrete blocks, with exterior finish already applied.

Company area manager Paul Hood outlined some of the physical properties of that type of block and the technical requirements designers had to consider when specifying their use.

And he said that form of construction had become increasingly widely used because the pre-finished blocks did not require additional render once the walls had been formed.

‘It is quicker to build than using standard bricks or blocks because you can miss out the entire wet-render stage and if you can save time, you can also save in labour costs,’ he said.

‘Long-term maintenance costs are also greatly reduced because you eliminate the need for a five-yearly cycle of repainting the exterior.’

The precision-made blocks to be used on the new schools are all being manufactured in a single batch to provide a consistent material. They will have a natural, weathered appearance.

Mr Hood said that was just one of the finishes possible using that form of material. They can also have a polished appearance or, potentially, even glow-in-the-dark blocks are available.

‘That particular material is still in development, but we believe it has a number of applications, such as for way markers.’