Guelder Rose at Ocean Plaza, Southport

Plenty of Nice Curves to be Seen at New Southport Pub

The interior of a new Marston’s public house and restaurant in Southport has been a given a distinctive and striking appearance, thanks to a revolutionary thermoformable plywood, UPM Grada®

UPM Grada® is distributed in the UK by timber and panel products distributor, James Latham and after being specified by Wildgoose Construction for the Guelder Rose at Ocean Plaza on Southport seafront , it was used to create a number of visually impactful and stylish screens for both secluded eating areas, as well as a brightly coloured children’s play area.

Wildgoose Construction were responsible for the entire project and worked in partnership with Rotherham based specialist joinery and bar fitting company, Classic Bar on the interior fit-out.

David Briggs, of James Latham commented “ They were looking for a material that could create a truly stylish and modern, yet classic design feature within the pub and had specified curved Birch Plywood sections for the screened areas. Because of the innovative technology used within UPM Grada® Plywood, which enables a remarkably shorter and faster form pressing process compared to traditional technology based on the gluing of veneers, it  provided the perfect solution.

“Having taken the brief from Classic Bar, we worked with our fabricator in Finland to produce 175 pieces which were 10mm 100 x 875 curved sections. These were formed with square holes in the centre so the metal rods could be inserted through to hold them all together.”

UPM Grada® Plywood offers furniture makers and interior designers an option which they have not previously had available, allowing them to create contemporary ‘on-trend’ furniture at a fraction of the cost and time. The process starts by heating the plywood boards, enabling them to be bent to a desired shape. As the plywood cools down, it remains in the given shape while maintaining its original strength properties. No time is wasted waiting for the wet glue to dry.

As a result of this successful project, James Latham has just supplied Classic Bar with a further 240 pieces for 2 more pubs currently under refurbishment.