Smog Eating Panels & 150 Foot Lifts

Alcoa, Toto unveil green building panels that eat smog: A skyscraper that devours the smog around it? Now that’s what I call a smart idea. Alcoa on Monday launched a coil-coated architectural panel that helps clean itself and the air around it. Called “Reynobond with EcoClean,” the product is a partnership between the aluminum giant and design-forward Japanese manufacturer Toto. Alcoa says the panels reduce maintenance costs and helps decompose smog and other pollutants in the air that cling to building surfaces, from dirt to diesel fumes.

Architectural panels that help clean themselves and the air around them.

How effective is the technology? About 10,000 square feet of the panels can clean the air as well as 80 medium-sized deciduous trees, Alcoa says. It’s enough to offset four cars each day. You can imagine the applications of this green building technology: Times Square would glimmer a little brighter. Ultra-high skyscrapers wouldn’t need to hire daring window cleaners to keep floor-to-ceiling windows transparent. And, at scale, a smog-choked Los Angeles could breathe a bit easier. At the core of the concept is a proprietary process that takes Toto’s patented Hydrotect technology — which helps keep microbes at bay on that company’s toilets, bath tubs and other bathroom fixtures — and applies it to a hydrophilic titanium dioxide coating on the pre-painted aluminum surface of a Reynobond panel.

The result: an aluminum panel that, in the presence of sunlight, acts as a catalyst to break down organic pollutants on its surface and in the air around it. Once broken down, rainwater simply rinses them away.

High Access directors Peter Metcalfe and Neil Bethell.

High Access invests £250,000 in new kit: A business that provides high level cleaning and maintenance services to the commercial property sector is investing £250,000 in equipment as it prepares for further growth. Manchester-based High Access was established 10 years ago as a rope-access window cleaning company, later moving into full maintenance services which include pointing, re-glazing and cladding replacement. Clients include Jones Lang La Salle, Living City and Savills, which has extended a three-year contract with High Access covering more than 50 commercial properties.

Niel Bethell, founding and managing director of High Access, said the company has bought a £125,000 Ruthmann truck mounted platform which will reach heights of 27 metres and will this month take delivery of a new £250,000 truck which will reach 46 metres. “It will be the largest truck mounted platform in Manchester,” said Niel. “For the business it's a huge investment but it will also mean that we will be able to win new clients as we will be able to tackle buildings at a higher reach.

“Over the last five years we have invested heavily in new plant and equipment and we now have 20 vehicles. “The advantage to having our own fleet is that we are able to keep our costs down and stay ahead in the market, as we're not reliant on hiring equipment. “We've grown steadily year-on-year and that is down to retaining clients and not moving into the new-build property sector, which was affected heavily during the recession.”

The business, which employs 30 staff, has recently extended its warehouse and office facilities at a cost of £30,000 and will launch a fleet hire division, HighAccessHire, this month. Niel said: “We don't use all our fleet at once, so we decided to hire them out instead.” He added the business is on track to reach revenues of £2m this year, up from £1.6m in 2010.