London based West Leigh has won the Best Commercial Project category at the Steel Window Association (SWA) Awards 2024 for its ‘sensitive and painstaking’ work on the restoration of a former Victorian wallpaper factory in Chiswick.
Voysey House been refurbished in the 1980s featuring the W20 window in the large pane format but all the architecturally important curved heads had been panelled to save money, severely detracting from the period styling of the property, which the client wanted to renovate as offices.
West Leigh had both the experience of commercial refurbishments, and the logistical resources to rectify the shortcomings of the one-time industrial building and its imposing three-storey façades, says the SWA.
West Leigh MD Andy Bawn said “We initially offered a W20 section frame in small panes, which is a common product for this type of building but the client felt this was not sympathetic enough. We then realised we needed a more radical approach and instead, found a rarely used arrow section Series 200 alternative, which is still rolled and mimics the appearance of the original cast iron frames.
“However, a regular heritage double-glazed unit would have been too large for the rebate. We therefore sourced a product that is new to the UK – the Fineo double-glazed unit – a vacuum technology that delivers a U-value of 0.7 W/m2K and a front to back dimension of just 8 mm; but more importantly the sight line is of only 6mm. The combination of these two materials is ideal for period properties of this type and achieved a genuinely great finished result.”
West Leigh even designed new tooling to enable all of the end and crucifix notching to be achieved. This was employed in the company’s power presses to create uniform joint details. The largest windows produced for Voysey House were a trio measuring 4.5m wide by 3.7m high which, like the rest of the frames were hot zinc sprayed and then given a RAL6007 Bottle Green polyester coat finish. West Leigh’s own operatives carried out all of the installation work.
The SWA Awards judge, Architecture Today technical editor John Renshaw said: “Completed in 1902, Voysey House is the only commercial building designed by the celebrated modernist architect CFA Voysey. This project demonstrated what can be achieved when a committed client and a highly knowledgeable and experienced window manufacturer work together.”
www.steel-window-association.co.uk
