Stylish example of steel windows in London design practice

The headquarters of a leading design practice, located close to The Shard and the Southbank’s redeveloped London Bridge Station, provide a stylish example of steel windows’ relevance to a vibrant urban landscape. West Leigh, retrofitted three different systems into the building.

West Leigh was selected to supply a variety of frames for the offices of TP Bennett at One America Street when the practice undertook major renovation. Not only was the project a success, but West Leigh - located a few miles east in Charlton - has gained an ideal reference site for its diverse capabilities.

The award of the sub-contract came about as a result of the service which West Leigh offered to TP Bennett on the earlier National Audit Office redevelopment and required very close coordination in replacing large ground and upper floor windows in the main elevations of One America Street. The work involved carrying out a precise survey of every window opening affected, for its factory to produce the new frames in sympathetic styles; employing W20 and W40 as well as Schuco Primo profiles.

While they were factory painted in RAL 7024 Anthracite Grey and the fittings were specified with a satin chrome finish, measures such as modern weather-stripping and Argon or Krypton filled glazing units with low-E glass ensure the replacements offer far superior energy performance to the original timber fenestration.

The W20 windows on America Street, which replaced the old ground floor timber frames, contain 16 mm IG units with 4mm clear toughened outer and 4mm soft coat Low-E inner panes, while Krypton fills the 8 mm cavity. The W40 frames on the ground floor of Keppel Row feature 24.8 mm glazing units made up of a 10 mm toughened outer leaf, and a 6.8mm acoustic laminate, soft coat inner leaf; again with Krypton in an 8mm cavity.

Replacing old bay windows on the America Street façade, the large single pane fixed lights are fabricated from Schuco Primo steel sections and accommodate 34 mm sealed units. These comprise a 10mm solar control outer and 10 mm clear toughened inner leaf, this time with Argon in the 14mm cavity.

The Senior Estimator on the project for West Leigh, David Cox, commented, “One America Street was a challenging project due to the scale of the building and the fact that TP Bennett’s staff remained in occupation throughout. However, we worked closely with Southwark Council - in relation to a road closure for a crane - to minimise disruption. It remains a contract we are very proud to have been involved with.”

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