University of the Arts London, top two in the world for art and design, contacted Hazlemere to discuss the refurbishment plans for the windows at the College of Fashion, on bustling Oxford Street in the centre of London.
Getting in touch with us at such an early stage of the project was a smart move by the University, allowing them to draw on our expertise to fully investigate budget requirement and the logistical implications involved with their extensive scheme. Early discussion of programme will ultimately aid a timely delivery too.
Hazlemere delivered a pilot scheme once it became clear the original tilt turn window that had been specified would not provide enough ventilation. Approved from a full working sample, the university decided on a bottom opening window positioned below the tilt before turn, with butt hinges, on bespoke designed Teleflex winding gear. The sustainable system selected for this design was the Optio 58BW Tilt Before Turn aluminium window from AluK, in a standard RAL.
This was a CDM2015 notifiable project due to the numbers on site with scaffold, asbestos, Teleflex sub-contractors and fitting teams all overseen by the full time Hazlemere SMSTS qualified site manager.
The project was tendered as per the initial drawings but on further investigation of scaffold design it became apparent that the roofs of the buildings at ground floor level would not provide enough support at the rear of the building. The Hazlemere team worked extensively with the college’s structural engineers and our own scaffold partner, to play a vital role in the scaffold design required to solve this challenge. Lace and brace beam work added a significant amount of work to the overall project, with 835 linear meters of Apollo beams, 200 brackets and 1000 holes all required to tie back into the structure.
Non-notifiable asbestos had been detected in the building so our own fully trained teams were able to remove and professionally dispose of the hazardous waste, along with the contaminated aluminium outer frames. The clean aluminium sashes were able to be recycled in line with our ISO14001 policies.
Following installation of the windows, Hazlemere oversaw the concrete repairs and pointing works via our appointed sub-contractor. Handover included liaison with Building Control for final sign off and the issue of the Hazlemere 10-year insurance backed warranty on project completion.
Like so many projects undertaken during 2020, the programme was hugely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but good communication from all involved helped us to navigate the challenges through to successful completion. The Hazlemere team are now working on the £380k refurbishment of the college’s design building at their Elephant & Castle site, for rooflight curtain walling with screwjack operated opening windows.
