WORCESTERSHIRE construction group Weaver is the first contractor in the country to use a revolutionary cladding system on a high-rise residential project to counteract tough logistical challenges.

The £3.5m project at Howard House on the corner of Holliday Street and Granville Street in Birmingham involves the construction of 52 apartments over five storeys for property developer Greenfield International. Boundary walls on two sides of the site and roads on the other two sides meant that access and materials storage were exceptionally restricted.

Weaver's design and build team specified FI Systems' warm frame panels, which are manufactured off-site and incorporate a masonry face veneer together with insulation, openings and all fixings.

By specifying the panels, Weaver ensured that the constraints of the site were overcome and that construction of the faade of the building could proceed to a fast-track programme with insulation already installed and provision for internal walls constructed as part of the same process.

Peter Lightfoot, joint managing director at Weaver, which is based in Bromsgrove, said: "With the continuing development of ever tighter sites in inner city locations like this one at Howard House, innovative products and off-site manufactured systems become more and more important.

"Systems like this also have the massive benefit of compliance with construction programme and factory level quality control."

Specialist sub-contractor PCE of Atherstone in War-wickshire installed 94 prefabricated panels delivered to the site to a "just-in-time" schedule. Co-ordinating closely with the Weaver site team, PCE used Weaver's tower crane to lift each of the panels directly into position before installation.

Ricky Hill, managing director of PCE, said: "The system allows several elements of the construction process to come together in one hit.

"This means that it falls in line with the trend towards lean construction and reduced programme time."

Peter Davey, FI Systems director, added: "This is a significant step forward in the use of warm frame panels. Howard House demonstrates not only the flexibility of the system, but also just how a building quickly can take shape and be sealed off from the weather, which is particularly relevant when building in the winter in the UK."