County Hall on the
Southbank of the Thames is one of the capital's most notable buildings, having
continued to fulfil many roles since the departure of the GLC; and has twice
been the focus for far-reaching restoration work involving one of the Steel Window
Association's members.
London-based,
Associated
Steel Window Services (ASWS),
specialises in the repair and restoration of steel and other metal windows,
including heritage work, a skillset which led to the company being awarded the
original contract encompassing the whole of County Hall 20 years ago.
Now, with the vast
property having multiple occupants including two hotels, an aquarium and
various other commercial tenants, ASWS has undertaken two more phases of work
on behalf of KPS Partnerships; a fit-out specialist creating a high-spec
conference centres. RHWL was the renowned firm of architects leading the design
and heritage work.
The scope of the SWA
member's involvement, carried out in two phases starting in 2016, focused on
the in-situ overhaul of the large medium-Universal frames, across two floors of
the Grade II listed façades and around some of the structure's numerous light-wells.
The team of four operatives, plus the supervisor who had been involved on the
original contract early in his career, refurbished nearly 200 windows, while
also installing new ironmongery to match the original design aesthetic.
Following on from the
success of this, KPS again invited ASWS to tender for another phase last year,
where the contractor was fitting out Level 3 to create the venue's ancillary
spaces. An additional 116 windows, including 261 opening lights were refurbished,
while some 500 pieces of new ironmongery were fitted. In addition, ASWS
supplied and installed new windows to replicate a number of original badly
corroded windows.
Simon Stillwell of KPS
Partnership commented, "Our role on the latest contract was to take the
space from a shell right through to handing over the full County Hall
conference centre, including creating the kitchen, restaurant and washrooms,
and managing all the specialist sub-contracts. ASWS proved to be very adaptable
and we were really pleased with the first phase, so we invited them to tender
again for the second. I was very impressed with the level of service - always
proactive. Also given the length and complexity, it was great that they kept
the same fitters on site
throughout."
Katrina Bennell from
ASWS added, "This was an interesting challenge for us, not just because of
our past involvement, but also because of the scale of the building. Some parts
had remained unoccupied since our first involvement twenty years ago, and you
could still see our original colour coded stickers within the reveals to the
windows, which actually helped our current team with identifying different
openings."
Members of the Steel
Window Association offer a UK wide service for the repair and replacement of
various types of old metal windows, doors and screens, as well as being able to
manufacture new fenestration which fully meets the requirements of the Building
Regulations. Choosing an SWA member to manufacture and install steel windows
and doors ensures that the highest standard of fabrication, Installation and
customer service is achieved.
