February Refurb and Renew magazine
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Crittall helps maintain ‘industrial heritage’<br />
of striking London l<strong>and</strong>mark<br />
A new l<strong>and</strong>mark headquarters building in West London has been created using Crittall windows to reflect its historical context <strong>and</strong><br />
satisfy conservation requirements.<br />
184 Shepherd’s Bush Road is a striking<br />
redevelopment of a Grade II listed garage <strong>and</strong><br />
showroom originally constructed for the Ford<br />
Motor Company. Erected in 1915-16 the building<br />
was designed by Manchester-based architect<br />
Charles Heathcote who drew on contemporary<br />
American practice utilising what was then a<br />
pioneering engineering solution to structural<br />
framework. The resulting reinforced concrete<br />
frame <strong>and</strong> modular plan of the three-storey<br />
structure influenced strongly architects Collado<br />
Collins in their design for the new building.<br />
The character of the building’s broad frontage has<br />
been retained – an important consideration<br />
because of its listing <strong>and</strong> its location in a<br />
conservation area - with Crittall large form<br />
Berkeley windows providing a significant visual<br />
aspect in the street scene. The Berkeley was<br />
originally created in order to replace existing<br />
1920s <strong>and</strong> 1930s steel windows that were<br />
predominantly single pane leaded glass, exterior<br />
putty glazed. With the Berkeley, Crittall<br />
developed an entirely new series of hot rolled<br />
sections where a solid steel chamfer replicates<br />
exterior putty glazing, whilst the interior glazing<br />
improves access for reglazing <strong>and</strong> security.<br />
Berkeley offers an ideal solution for both<br />
replacement projects <strong>and</strong> new construction<br />
where minimum sightlines, maximum daylight,<br />
<strong>and</strong> fine detail are desired. The system is suitable<br />
for high-end residential, institutional <strong>and</strong>, as in<br />
the case of Shepherd’s Bush Road, commercial<br />
applications.<br />
In complete contrast with the traditional<br />
frontage, the redevelopment - which was<br />
completed in June - has added three further<br />
storey’s beneath a glass dome completely<br />
enclosing the roof.<br />
Roy Collado, Partner of ColladoCollins, said: “This<br />
is an exciting reimagining of an important local<br />
l<strong>and</strong>mark. The designs sympathetically maintain<br />
the industrial heritage of the building <strong>and</strong> the<br />
surrounding area, whilst proposing a sleek <strong>and</strong><br />
contemporary aesthetic … The use of innovative<br />
techniques to inform <strong>and</strong> influence the design is<br />
something that we believe could really enhance<br />
the site.”<br />
In order to meet the requirements of the project<br />
Crittall Windows tackled a number of challenges<br />
associated with the physical size <strong>and</strong> weight of<br />
the Berkeley units specified. So as to optimize<br />
capacity to deal with the quantity required by<br />
the contract the company utilized a newly<br />
installed piece of equipment – its 4 axis CNC<br />
Machining Centre – which ensured that<br />
consistently accurate machined components<br />
could be produced with short lead times assisting<br />
the flow of the product so as to meet the<br />
stringent on-time needs of the installation<br />
programme.<br />
The 115,000 sq ft office building has now been<br />
occupied by customer science company<br />
Dunnhumby as its European headquarters.<br />
Credits:Main contractor: McLaren Construction<br />
Architect: ColladoCollins<br />
www.crittall-windows.co.uk<br />
Jan / Feb 2O16 issue 8955 refurb| RENEW 29
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