Cousins has been awarded the contract for the painting and decorating of Heathrow’s new Terminal 2 building.

The new building will replace the current Terminal 2 and the Queens Building, which date from the 1950s, and is expected to be inaugurated in the first half of 2014.

This new build, the largest construction job ever commissioned by the airport operator, has been awarded to a joint venture (JV) of HETCo – Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O’Rourke.

Under the contract the joint venture will excavate the site and build the 40,000 square metre main structure as well as constructing ten aircraft parking stands.

It will have the capacity to serve 20 million passengers each year and its innovative design will reduce CO2 emissions by 40%. Heathrow, which inaugurated its new Terminal 5 in 2008, is set to become one of Europe’s most modern and sustainable airports.

Gilding, or gold leaf, is the use of real gold applied to a prepared surface to give the appearance of solid gold – even though the gold leaf itself is only 1/10000^th mm thick!

Gold leaf lasts for a very long time and retains its natural lustre throughout, unlike cheaper alternatives such as gold paint, which soon fade and discolour.

Very fashionable in Victorian times, stencilling was used to brighten-up both public and private buildings and give a sense of ‘Granduer’.

Stencilling can be simply a single colour on a solid background or can be over-layed with a series of different colours, including gold leaf, to give the most intricate of effects.

Trompe’Oeil, or ’Trick of the Eye’, can be used to give the appearance of depth on an otherwise flat surface, creating features, such as columns stand out and niches stand back.

As in the photograph here a flat piece of timber can be made to look intricately carved.

Campbell, Smith’s craftsmen can use paint effects, or broken colour effects, to replicate a wide range of natural, or decorative finishes.

Effects such as marbling and graining can be produced to look just like the real thing, whilst other decorative effects can be used, for instance, to soften solid colours, by dragging or rag-rolling, or to give a ‘distressed’ appearance to new woodwork.

Cousins Group are pleased to announce gaining accreditation, via Achilles, to the highest category, level 5, of ‘BuildingConfidence’, which is quickly becoming recognised as the standard for supplier excellence within the industry. Major contractors are using the service to evaluate their supply chains, drive up performance and forge longer lasting relationships with key suppliers.

On top of Paulius Servilis winning the quality award, at Athletes village, our foreman , Vildray Karami, has won the Safety Award for June.

Paulius Sirvelis, Cousins Foreman at Athletes Village collecting the Quality Contractor of the month award from main contractor, John Sisk & Sons ltd.

Cousins Group are pleased to announce the re-opening of our London office, based in Westminster Business Square, Durham Street, Vauxhall.

The new office provides us with a base in closer proximity to many of our high profile contracts in the Capital.

Get directions to our new office here

Cousins Group is pleased to announce two new managerial appointments:
Graham Cox is our new Commercial Manager based in London.
Andy Woodhead is our new Southern Area Manager.