Daylight-flooded
spaces command a premium from tenants, but in the densest urban areas – where
buildings are very tightly packed – it can be difficult to achieve.
Not least because of
the need to protect against the spread of fire.
This was the
challenge for developer Meritcape when they set out to refurbish 7 Aylesbury
Street – a converted historic warehouse building in Clerkenwell, East London.
The designers wanted
to fill every floor of the building with natural light, from both the front and
the back of the building by using floor-to-ceiling glazing on every floor.
However, the rear of the property was just three metres away from a neighbouring
building.
To prevent fire
spreading from one building to the next, building regulations specify the fire
resistance that external walls need to be able to provide. This is given as
minimum requirements for integrity – how long they can contain smoke and flames
– and insulation, or how long they can prevent the escape of heat.
Steve Bond, technical
and customer support manager, fire, at Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, said:
“When you have two buildings this close together, standard glazing is not an
option, as it doesn’t put up enough of a barrier to fire spreading outwards
from the building.
“That’s where
fire-resistant glazing can make a big difference. By providing protection
against fire while also letting light flow in, we can create light-filled
spaces in very built-up parts of the city where not long ago it wouldn’t have
been possible.
“As well as sealing
in flames and smoke for at least an hour, the glass also provides radiation
shielding that reduces the amount of heat energy that can pass outwards through
the glass – another key means of spreading fire.”
The
rear façade of the building is glazed in Pilkington Pyroclear Plus insulating
double-glazed units, delivering not only the right level of fire resistance,
but have also been designed to give excellent thermal insulation (U-value)
properties to reduce heat-loss from the building.
Davood Kiani, Senior
Project Consultant at Meritcape said: “Those looking for modern commercial
space expect floorplans to be well lit with natural light, and this is one of
the main design challenges when working with buildings in the most densely
urban areas of the city.
“Fire regulations are
one of the big reasons for this, so Pilkington fire-resistant glazing means we
can achieve the best of both worlds - a building that meets or exceeds all of
the safety regulations while also feeling spacious and airy.”
A total of 800m2 of Pilkington glass was used in the
project, including in the front façade of the building, in which hundreds
custom-sized small double-glazed solar-control units were used to imitate the
crittall steel-framed windows that are a signature feature of buildings in the
area.
