A leading
member of the Steel Window Association has manufactured and installed bespoke
double glazed W20 frames for the refurbishment of a former brewery building in
South London, with the replacement fenestration fulfilling various technical as
well as planning requirements.
West Leigh
Ltd carried out the £130K contract on the Plough Brewery, Wandsworth Road, for
Marston Properties working closely with specialist restoration architect,
McDaniel Woolf in order to satisfy the concerns of local conservation officers.
Not only
were the new W20 windows customised to respect the property’s heritage –
including bespoke vents, hardware and glazing details - but they also offer
much improved thermal and acoustic performance. In addition, West Leigh’s
fitting of the windows had to be completed without disruption to the work of
the Plough Brewery’s tenants, who are mainly involved in the fashion and
creative industries.
West Leigh
produced a total of 80 made-to-measure windows, up to 2200 mm tall where
semi-circular heads feature, mimicking the appearance of those believed to have
originally been installed when the brewery was built back in 1868.
In order to achieve improved energy performance and to cut traffic
noise from the very busy Wandsworth Road, 4-6-4 sealed units were fitted,
featuring a soft coat Low-E inner leaf and Krypton filling. This offered a
centre pane U-value of 1.2 W/m2 K and full compliance
with Building Regulation requirements. The frames were powder coated RAL 7021
Black Grey.
The
architect for Marston Properties, Richard Woolf, commented: “Obviously working
with the Conservation Officers on a Grade II listed property, they had a great
deal of input. It was in trying to achieve the detailed approvals necessary
that the steel windows came into their own, harmonising with the building and
replicating metal windows from a previous century.
“It is always difficult with a property of this age to be absolutely
certain, but from some of the 19th century photographs
available, and a couple of frames we found on the lower parts of stairways,
they were probably a hybrid of sand-cast iron and timber.”
Richard
Woolf went on to explain how the consultation with the client and council led
to the inclusion of centre rotating “hopper” vents, identified by analysing the
archive material and the earliest frames. Being allowed to upgrade to
double glazing was a significant improvement, but required detailed
consideration of the way it would be configured; along with the frame colour
and other aesthetic aspects.
Richard
Woolf concluded: “We worked with conservation and with West Leigh, to create a
suite of windows for this renovation which would be harmonious – and being in
steel would work with the authentic cast windows. West Leigh is a wonderful
company to work with – they did a terrific job, including the installation
which had to be carried out with the building fully occupied; requiring
coordination and the erection of temporary screens within the rooms.
“We have
had good feedback from the business owners about the service and the reduction
in road noise, while Marston Properties was delighted that the Plough Brewery
has now received The Clapham Society Historic Building Award.”
While West
Leigh is well known in the capital for its involvement in detailed
refurbishment, including historic listed building projects, the company is also
increasingly branching out into new build work. In fact, its ability to produce
windows matching the performance of many PVC-U systems by employing the
recently developed W50 section frames has seen the company working on schools,
colleges and other public buildings as well as high end residential apartment
and other domestic properties.
