ÿþTwo facades of Bermondsey Island are clad with an innovative product called Tilebrick. Produced by brick manufacturer Ibstock, it's designed to be laid like a brick and has similar dimensions (168 x 102.5 x 102.5mm) but gives the appearance of a tile hung facade. The overlapping lip avoids the need for horizontal pointing and to create the tile hung appearance it's laid without mortar between the vertical joints (perpends). Available in either sandfaced or smooth finish in 6 different colours the Bermondsey Island project uses a smooth blue to form the outer leaf of the facade and this is tied to a steel support system between concrete floors. At first glance the decision to hang the masonry cladding from a lightweight steel frame seems counter intuitive, but the decision to do so helped the project overcome two construction challenges. The archeological value of the site demanded careful foundation design, transferring the load away from the edges towards the central core and carefully placed columns. Reducing the weight of the facade assisted this process. The second problem concerned site constraints and buildability. Using a masonry construction for both leaves of the facade would have resulted in a greater quantity of material which would have been difficult to store on the tight site adjacent to the public highway. The contractor recommended the use of the lightweight steel system instead. The supply of specials pre-cut off site undoubtedly reduced waste and improved the finish quality of the corners. However the demands of the mortar-less perpends and recommended 1mm joint reduces the ability of the contractor to adjust slightly between openings and some site cuts were required.