Eighty Grosvenor Street is set in the heart of the art district in London’s prestigious Mayfair not far from Bond Street. Developed by Frelene Ltd, it is an excellent example of how an existing historic building can be reimagined for modern use. Behind the traditional facade, sits a contemporary structure that belies the age of the original buildings on the site.
Originally three individual period townhouses, the building has been transformed into a single, mixed use structure spanning five upper storeys complete with private terraces on the 4th and 5th floors. The new steel frame structure (SFS) has been created to overcome the challenges of delivering modern day open plan spaces flooded with light in a traditional historic building. The use of reclaimed Suffolk white brickwork and sensitive replacement timber windows to the front ensure the building remains in keeping with the Georgian aesthetic of the street.
Working with Orms Architects, Kier Construction set out to retain part of the original facade at the front of the building as per planning. Due to the company’s extensive experience working on retained facade projects, George Barnsdale was appointed to manufacture and install the timber windows to the front of the building where the Georgian aesthetic needed to be retained. George Barnsdale invested a great deal of time at tender stage to ensure the designs met the requirements of the Grosvenor Estates team. Having worked on a number of properties in the area, the company’s experience and knowledge proved invaluable to the design process.
Commenting on the design process, Kathryn Knowles, Architect, Orms said,
“We were looking to achieve a bespoke framing element to make sure that we captured the existing window profiles which were originally on the retained facade. Barnsdale were very accommodating and assisted to make sure that we achieved the retained facade replication.”
Back on site in Lincolnshire, the windows were designed to incorporate an overall frame thickness of 128mm which is not a standard product. Taking one of the company’s standard frame profiles as a base, two versions of decorative frame add on were developed. This ensured the performance data for the whole window was accurate whilst at the same time incorporating a sympathetic bespoke design. A simple pencil round profile was used with a more ornate profile for the two arched openings.
Kathryn continued,
“The windows are elegant and contextually sit well within the retained facade. They look as per the vision we had for the building.”