The award-winning regeneration of the Brutalist-inspired Béton House, part of the iconic Grade II-listed Park Hill housing estate Sheffield, into student accommodation features Technal aluminium windows, doors and curtain walling.

Originally completed in 1961, Park Hill is the largest listed building in Europe and is regarded as a significant Brutalist building of heritage. Designed by Whittam Cox Architects for student housing developer Alumno, main contractor Kier undertook the refurbishment work. The completed project provides accommodation for 356 students, which includes townhouses and a number of two- and four-bedroom apartments, and studios.

Whittam Cox Architect and Associate Director Matthew Borland, explained the objective from a façade perspective: “Upgrading the old timber windows was a priority and one of the key planning requirements was to replicate the sightlines of the original windows.”

He continued: “The approach was to retain as much of the original building fabric and façade pattern as possible including the existing openings. We also wanted to avoid the opening lights looking ‘clunky’ when integrated into the glazing.

“This is what led to the use of the Technal FY 65 Minimal system, which offers a minimalist frame and slim, subtle sightlines. But it wasn’t just the aesthetics, the building was thermally modelled and a U-value of 1.6 was required. The Technal suite of products allowed us to meet our visual, performance and functional requirements, perfectly.”

Replacing the existing timber screens and original double timber windows, 930 Technal Soleal FY 65 Minimal windows have been designed, fabricated and installed as combination frames of fixed and open in units by Bradford-based glazing and facade specialist Quest Solutions. The full height glazing to living spaces creates a bright and light living come dining area.

Technal systems have also been installed to other parts of the building. The previously undesirable open colonnade undercrofts have been transformed into brighter more open spaces. Fronting the student hub and mixed-use units at this ground floor level, standard capped Technal MX curtain walling has been installed with integrated louvers and opening lights for ventilation with the company’s STII doors installed to the main entrances.

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