St James’s Place
5th December 2017

When architectural practice Scott Brownrigg designed a new building at the headquarters of FTSE 100-listed wealth management business St James’s Place, it wanted to give the building ‘a suitably impressive centrepiece’ to welcome employees, clients and partners.

This was achieved with a three-storey atrium, using the Pilkington Planar structural glazing system. The space sits between the two major elements of the building and is enclosed by a 12.8 metre tall vertical entrance screen and glazed roof.

The roof is supported by stainless steel rod tension structure, while the entrance screen features full-height glazed fins, which provide structural strength without compromising on transparency. The fixings used in the installation use the Planar 905J stainless steel fittings in the vertical screen and Planar 902 fittings on the roof, in conjunction with the Planar Nexus castings.

All of the glass is toughened and heat soak tested, and the double-glazed units that make up the surface consist of an outer 6mm pane of glass incorporating a 6mm Pilkington Suncool 50/25 Pro T solar-control coating. This reduces transmission of solar energy to 27% while allowing 46% light transmission.

On the roof, the inner pane is 19.5mm Sentry Glas laminated using Pilkington Optifloat toughened and heat soak tested glass, while on the entrance screen it is a single 15mm Optifloat toughened and heat soak tested glass. Between the panes is a 16mm-thick argon-filled cavity. 

The energy performance of the glazing has helped towards the project’s BREEAM Very Good rating.
 
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