Community Education Service

As part of a community education scheme in London, local councils wanted to provide a learning centre for the vast range of ethnic groups now situated in the capital catchment area. The "Brent Adult Community Education Service" - BACES was set up and provides eight such day colleges for groups of people who want to learn new life skills from English, Maths, IT, Art, Computer, Beauty/Hair Care, Business, Management and Law. One of these centres has been set up in South Kilburn at a former Victorian school building and was called the ‘Carlton Centre'. A gradual refurbishment scheme to upgrade the structure was soon underway. A London based architects Chassey & Last approached PERMABAN to provide a special white concrete floor in the reception  and café area that was polished to provide a one piece terrazzo surface and which required little maintenance. They designed a very modern and contempory building with under floor heating and open plan layout to provide a light and welcoming entrance to the college.

The floor PERMABAN provided was a special 25mm bonded overlay with a white mortar and imported silver/grey & black aggregate and then polish the stone and mortar to a smooth finish. A deeply penetrating sealing coat is applied as part of the process to impregnate which improves the abrasion resistance and resistance to staining.An extension to the front of the building was a stunning lighthouse feature that provided a lift and stair access to the upper floors and was designed in steel, glass, and finished in copper. This once drab old Victorian building has now been transformed into a stunning and colourful landmark that the local community can use for themselves and which helps many people in their every day lives.