Ilona Rose House, London

A redevelopment of the old Foyle’s Bookshop on Charing Cross Road, Ilona Rose House comprises 80,000 sq ft of office space, along with retail, restaurants, an art gallery, nightclub and eight apartments. Spread over 13 stories including four below ground and 14,000 sq ft of south-west facing terraces on the upper floors, MATT Architecture’s design for the highly decorative and cantilevered façade includes rose motifs across each floor of the building.

For a commercial building that stands out from the crowd in the heart of Soho, IG Masonry Support was able to meet the architect’s brief through the provision of a range of brick slip products to achieve the desired aesthetic finish and Link Building which links Greek Street to the development. IG Masonry Support designed bespoke brick slip systems for each application, providing practical solutions that enabled brickwork contractor Lesterose Builders Ltd to save on installation time significantly.

Challenge

To achieve the architect’s vision and the needs of brickwork contractor Lesterose, the expertise of the IG Masonry Support and its products came into play to fulfil the requirements of this bespoke project.

Central Pier on Ilona Rose House

The main façade of the commercial building was designed using several shape requirements. The biggest challenge for this area of the project was the arches which required to come from the central pier to the corners of the building and create an optical illusion of closure into the ground.

Another challenge on the main building, Ilona Rose House, was the change in brick type. A solution had to be devised to hide the elevation’s movement joint and facilitate the brick change.

12-13 Greek Street, Mews Elevation

Although similar in design to the main Ilona Rose House building, the 12-13 Greek Street Mews Elevation features balconies in its design. This presented a challenge for IG Masonry Support as the structure featured balcony connectors which had the potential to clash with the Welded Masonry Support and Brick on Soffit Systems required for this building.

The Vault

Arguably one of the most attractive areas of the build is the Vault, which creates a passageway from Greek Street to the Mews Area of the development. The architect’s design required a continuous hanging brick effect utilising IG Masonry Support’s Brick Slip Panels. The challenge for our design was the sheer size of the soffit area and the curved design. We worked closely with Lesterose to manage the size of the panels, trading weight for ease of installation.

Solution

The team at IG Masonry Support collaborated with the whole project design team to ensure our products met the architectural and structural requirements of the project whilst ensuring maximum buildability for the brickwork contractor.

Central Pier on Ilona Rose House

As a result of the design team discussions, the B.O.S.S. system pushed the boundaries on this project due to the shape requirements. A quarter circle on the corners of the building and a three-level step down feature was required in the brickwork – a challenging yet bold aesthetic IG Masonry Support was able to bring to life with its Welded Masonry Support (WMS) and B.O.S.S units. The two systems also provided the aesthetic finish required including the three different brick types to give further interest to the façade by the use of colour.

12-13 Greek Street, Mews Elevation

Close collaboration was required with the whole design team to review the structural drawings of the 12-13 Greek Street Mews Elevation and ensure that our products were designed suitably to fit the requirements of the building. This was solely due to the location of the balcony connectors, a critical structural component, and the shadow gap, an engineered break that was implemented in the building design to accommodate the change in brick type. Our Welded Masonry Support systems were designed to step in and drop down at points to avoid any clashes with the surrounding building components. This allowed our B.O.S.S. to be bolted to each WMS system appropriately, blend seamlessly, and ensure ease of installation for the contractor.

The Vault

To enable the floating brickwork feature designed by MATT Architecture, IG designed Brick Slip Panels to suit a stretcher course bond pattern, covering a 40.3m2 area. 57 interlocking Panels, made up of nine designs varying in size and curvature, were designed and manufactured. During the manufacturing process, bricks were collected from site and delivered to our Brick Cutting Facility to be adhesively bonded to each Panel. This ensured each would blend seamlessly with the surrounding brickwork when installed.

IG Masonry Support also collaborated with Lesterose on the size and weight of the Brick Slip Panels to ensure an efficient installation process. Each Panel was bolted back to a specially designed rail system manufactured by IG Masonry Support. The rail system was bolted back to the building and a keyhole slot was incorporated to allow the Panel to be lifted and slid on to ensure the weight could be taken as quickly as possible. Once in place, final pointing was required, allowing a seamless blend with the surrounding brickwork.

The utilisation of IG Masonry Support’s prefabricated components ensured that all installation was undertaken efficiently, resulting in onsite cost savings and increased productivity.

For what is a landmark development in Central London, IG’s solutions have covered all bases, helping to achieve the architect’s vision and ensuring this stunning new building stands the test of time.