Commercial Heritage - Royal Mail, Mount Pleasant

Originally built in the 1880s, Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant sorting office has now been modernised, with a major feature of the refurbishment programme being the replacement of the exiting uPVC windows in the main administration building with the Smart Alitherm Heritage window system. The new windows replicate the aesthetics of the building’s original bronze fenestration, echoing its slim sight lines and finish (the building originally featured large bronze windows, but in a 1980s refurbishment, these were replaced with white uPVC units).

Each of the Smart window units is an impressive eight metres wide by four and a half metres high and was manufactured in a dual colour format, with the external profile featuring a bronze polyester paint finish and the internal profile standard white.

Given the exceptional scale of each window unit, and their corresponding performance requirement, Smart’s technical services team designed and developed a bespoke, 85mm coupling mullion to reinforce and strengthen the system, while retaining its characteristic slim profile. As part of the redevelopment, new Alitherm Heritage windows were also installed around the building’s stairwell – these were externally-beaded to allow maintenance to take place without having to access the lift shaft.