A
historic building in the seaside town of Whitley Bay has undergone a radical
renovation and development programme restoring it to its former glory.
Spanish City, which was constructed in 1910, has been given a new lease of life
as part of a coastal development plan driven by North Tyneside County Council.
Its
unusual name is reputedly borne from the ‘Toreadors’ concert party who played
on a temporary stage in what was then home to Rockliffe Rugby Club between 1904
and 1907.
To protect their audience from the inclement North Eastern weather,
canvas and wood awnings were built and painted to look like a Spanish Village
and the rest, as they say is history.
Fast
forward to the 21st century and the
£10m investment has seen the restoration of original features along with modern
extensions and the wonderful rotunda atop the building has been beautifully
brought back to life as a focal point of the project. The ceiling of the
central space has been removed from the ground floor to allow visitors to see
the iconic dome and the architectural detail.
“We are
proud to have been able to supply products to this stunning project which will
rejuvenate the heart of this seaside community,” said Jim Lowther sales
director Xtralite. “Our rooflights
will allow visitors to make the most of the lovely sea views and have
integrated seamlessly into the heart of the building with ease, balancing
practicality and aesthetics perfectly.”
Xtralite supplied products from its X-Glaze range which incorporated
a series of self-supporting 37.5mm double glazed units with dimension of 4.92
metres wide and a slope length of 2.52m pitched at 5° 7 units covering an area
of 86.78 sqm.
The Double Glazed Glass units were made up of 10mm thick
Guardian SunGuard 70/35 toughened solar control outer pane, 16mm Argon filled
cavity with black spacer bar, 11.5mm thick clear heat strengthened laminate
with Ionomer interlayer and black boarder to give building users greater
comfort. Practically, the units were fitted directly to the builder’s kerb and
resulted in a 1.2 W/m²°K Ud value (relating to the glazing units only).
Andrew
Coleman, Senior Project Manager at Robertson Construction, main contractors for
the project commented; “It was important to flood the building with as much
natural light as possible and to capitalise on the lovely sea views afforded
from certain aspects of the building. Balancing comfort, aesthetics, building
regulations and thermal efficiencies can be tricky but the reputation and
reliability of Xtralite products allowed us to fulfil all requirements.
Supply was efficient and technical information and support was readily
available allowing us to stay on track with our timescales to meet the launch
deadline of summer 2018.”
Jim
concluded: “This is a prime example of how modern products can be used in
historic restoration programmes to great effect sympathetically embracing the
fabric of the building but making it fit for its new intended purpose.”
X-Glaze
is just one of a range of glazing and rooflight products offered by Xtralite.
