27/05/2025
As more woodworking businesses turn to digital tools to manage daily operations, the risk of cybercrime is becoming a growing concern. From managing stock and customer orders to accounting and ...
BWF member company Vicaima has provided the interior door sets for the World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Centre in Woking. As well as being the new home of the WWF, the Living Planet Centre is an inspirational educational resource which shows, through smart use of design, materials and technology, that it is possible to create a state-of-the-art building with minimal environmental impact.
From the outset, Hopkins Architects and WWF set out to attain the highest possible standards of sustainability and worked to BREAM ‘outstanding’ criteria throughout.
Vicaima was chosen to manufacture and supply the interior door sets throughout the building – a choice that was based on Vicaima’s robust and extensive environmental policy, commitment to responsible sourcing of raw materials, and full FSC accreditation.
Principle contractors Willmott Dixon tasked NHE (N. H. Etheridge (Building) Ltd.) with supplying and installing the internal timber doorsets. NHE contracts director Steve Etheridge commented:
“Part of our scope of works included the supply and installation of internal timber door sets, and it soon became apparent that this element would be one of the most complicated and difficult to produce due to the integration and fully flush finish within the birch plywood wall panelling required by Hopkins Architects.”
“In joint meetings with the architects, client and supplier, we were confident that Vicaima would answer all the demands of the project, which they did throughout the build. The door sets were of excellent quality and they integrated seamlessly within the wall panelling that features throughout the building.”
Vicaima supplied a total of 46 fully finished, oversize Portaro door sets in various heights, the tallest being 2370mm for an entrance door to the auditorium, and to different widths; the maximum being 1130mm wide. With the range offering one of the greatest number of finish options available anywhere, including a complete Pantone matched colour spectrum, the doors at the Living Planet Centre were finished in birch to complement the wall panelling. The product provided a fully finished door, frame, architrave and ironmongery together in one single system, offering high performance doors to give a dramatic floor to ceiling look which was further enhanced by seamlessly integrating the door – using invisible hinges – into full wall-width panels to give a contemporary ‘panoramic’ look.
As a company compliant with the BWF Code of Conduct, Vicaima is also certified under the ISO 14001 environmental standard, is a member of the Tropical Forest Trust (TFT), and sources all wood from responsibly-managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The company takes a responsible approach to the consequences of industrial activity and its effect on the environment. As a matter of course Vicaima uses timber from renewable sources and properly managed forests and has a policy of using alternatives to endangered hardwood timbers.
