University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

Ryan Gerrard / 04 October 2022

Project Overview

Location:Glasgow, UK 
Contractor:MGN
Products:SC902
Area: 25,000 sqm

The Project

The construction of the new Technology and Innovation Centre – or TIC – at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland has graphically illustrated the specification and application benefits of Nullifire’s new generation intumescent coating, SC902.

The acclaimed research facility, located in the heart of Glasgow close by Scottish Enterprise’s Industry Engagement Building, has been designed by the world- renowned architectural practice, BDP, and built by main contractor, Lend Lease (Scotland). It is predicted the building will transform the manner in which academics will collaborate with commercial enterprises and the public sector on world-leading research projects.

Constructed at a cost of £89 million, the Technology and Innovation Centre features a large central atrium as well as extensive areas of glazing intended to create a shop window for the work being undertaken. Utilising a steel frame, the 25,000 square metre structure also represents a challenging environment in terms of its fire engineering; a task made more difficult by the notoriously wet Scottish climate and the comparatively tight critical path to the project’s programme.

However, as the result of its early successes on other high profile contracts north of the Border, including an extension to the famous Glen Ord Distillery, Nullifire’s SC902 was selected as the site-applied intumescent coating for all of the steelwork. The application work being carried out by one of Nullifire’s accredited specialist contractors, MGN.

Crucially, not only can SC902 be sprayed onto steelwork at low temperatures, and can achieve the required 120 minutes level of protection in a single treatment, rather than multiple visits, it dries within an hour of application. This meant the specialist contractor could work on days when the weather was “marginal” and required far less time on site than would be the case for rival intumescent systems.

Nullifire’s technical advisory team attended the site of the Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow on a regular basis to offer guidance and check on the coating thickness helping ensure the SC902 will match up to its certified performance potential should the situation ever necessitate.