The new head office of award-winning architects Cartwright Pickard, designed and developed by the practice, features extensive use of Technal’s architectural aluminium glazing systems, including the new MX curtain wall.
The £5.5m regeneration project involved the refurbishment and conversion of an existing warehouse overlooking the Grand Union Canal in London into a mixed-use commercial and residential scheme. Canal Side Studios now provides 11,000sqft of purpose-designed office space for Cartwright Pickard and other design-led businesses, with 13 apartments and a four-bed penthouse above.
The canalside elevation is glazed in Technal’s recently launched MX Visible Grid curtain walling, finished in anodised aluminium internally and externally to reflect the semi-industrial nature of the building. FXi casement windows have been inserted into the façade to naturally ventilate the offices as part of Cartwright Pickard’s commitment to developing a sustainable building, which has minimal impact on the environment.
A new atrium space has been created above the offices using MX sloped glazing to flood the interior with natural light and reduce the reliance on artificial lighting and minimise energy consumption. Opening lights were inserted into the atrium glazing as part of the natural ventilation strategy.
Technal’s MX curtain walling is also used on the front elevation to enclose the reception area and for the full height stair tower, which provides access to the apartments. Here, an opaque film was applied to the glass for solar protection to prevent the stairwell from overheating in the summer.
Commenting on the choice of glazing system for the project, James Pickard, Director of Cartwright Pickard Architects, said, “We have used Technal’s façade products for a number of years on a wide variety of commercial and residential schemes. On this project, the glazing systems helped us to achieve our sustainability objectives by maximising natural light and ventilation.”
“The systems are also contemporary and complement the design theme which has exposed the building’s original structure throughout, to give the scheme an industrial feel.”
“Avoiding demolition in favour of refurbishment and conversion has to be the most sustainable form of construction. The finished development has brought an unoccupied building back to life and has helped us to create an inspiring workspace to allow our practice to grow.”
All Technal’s systems were fabricated and installed by Q Glazing and the main contractor was Quarmby Construction.
Cartwright Pickard Architects have specified Technal for a number of their schemes including the acclaimed Sixth Avenue Apartments in York, the award-winning headquarters for Phoenix Natural Gas in Belfast and for the I Quarter in Sheffield – a landmark 16-storey tower which is currently under construction.
Technal’s new MX curtain wall is the first in the UK to offer such a wide variety of design options from a single grid system, including low to high rise, visible grid, faceted, structural, beaded and sloped glazing, and MX Trame Horizontale and Verticale.
MX will achieve low U values in accordance with the most stringent Building Regulations, and offers consistent site lines and interfaces, design flexibility and ease of installation to reduce time on site.
Project Name: Canal Side Studios
Project Location: London
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