Smart Architectural Aluminium

Built in 1974, a 92,000 square foot abandoned factory in Sheerness had been in a state of steady decline for many years. With a lack of investment, the general condition of the façades looked tired and uncared for, panels and glazing were stained and dirty, leaving the building looking almost derelict.However in 2020, Olympic Glass, one of the UK's leading manufacturers and processors of safety glass and sealed units, acquired the factory and have subsequently spent more than £2m completely renovating and creating the iconic Queensborough building.To refurbish the dilapidated building, Olympic Glass appointed Glaze, one of Smart Architectural Aluminium’s key partners, and a leading manufacturer and installer of premium quality, bespoke, external and internal glazing systems.Over a period of two years, Glaze installed 430 square metres of curtain walling, completely transforming the building’s external facades through the use of the Smart Wall external framing and door systems, all finished in anthracite grey.The external works were all completed during Covid restrictions, with just one section of façade being replaced at a time until the whole envelope was complete. When aggregated together, the external façade of the building was replaced with the new Smart Wall system in around six weeks.Internally, the building has also been completely transformed. With the first floor now home to Olympic Glass’s manufacturing facility, the second floor of the building has been divided into offices and meeting rooms for the company using 156 square metres of Smart’s AluSpace internal screening system.Finished in black for this project, the aluminium system features slim and elegant lines to allow light and airy internal environments to be created, while at the same time providing an effective acoustic barrier. Eight AluSpace hinged doors were installed as part of the internal screening system, all but one of which is hinged, with a sliding door installed at the entrance to a staircase.Finally on the second floor, Glaze created a large conference room using the Smart AluSpace system, with the rest of the floor having been converted into individual offices which are available for local businesses to rent.From effectively a blank canvas, the once near-derelict building has been created into a stunning office facility, completely transforming both the building and the area in which it stands.

Situated at the heart of London’s Canary Wharf, the two towers that make up the Landmark development comprise 804 prestige apartments and penthouses on 45 and 30 floors respectively, together with two lower-level buildings that are situated around a central courtyard.Developed by CPL and designed by architects Squire and Partners, the apartments and penthouses are finished to the highest quality specification, offering residents stunning views across London and Canary Wharf.The ground floor areas to all four blocks were completed in 2013 with Smart Architectural Aluminium’s MC Wall curtain walling system installed by one of the company’s specialist partners. With over 1,600 square metres of curtain walling installed, together with Smart Wall commercial entrance doors, the system perfectly completes the development which contains café areas as well as a Tesco convenience store.Completed for the Landmark scheme in a polyester powder coated grey finish, the slim profiles of the Smart MC Wall curtain walling system allow maximum light into both single and multi-storey buildings, with a special feature transom cap with concealed mullions for uninterrupted ‘glass to glass’ joints. The versatile, polyamide thermal break system, may also incorporate a top hung frameless vent and can accommodates any of the company’s windows and doors.

The striking Ocean Blue centre in Exmouth features function rooms and a café as well as a 12-lane ten pin bowling alley. Featuring Smart’s Alitherm 700 parallel opening windows and Visofold folding doors, visitors and guest at the centre enjoy uninterrupted, panoramic views out to sea.The Visofold doors were installed curved-on-plan, enabling the elegant design of the building to be continued through the openings. Featuring internally folding apertures, the doors open onto an outdoor seating area, allowing the internal and external space to be enjoyed together. Perfectly suited to applications such as this, the Alitherm 700 parallel windows are ideal for installation within a curtain wall façade, allowing a balanced, effective airflow to be achieved whilst maintaining security and safety.

The multi-million pound redevelopment of the Plymouth City Market features a range of Smart Architectural Aluminium’s windows and doorsLocated in the west end of the city, the market’s structure features an iconic wave-like roof and geometric design, elements which led to it being granted Grade II Listed Building status.The last renovation of the market took place in the post-war years, and it was a feature of this recent programme that the architect from that time was invited to join the early consultation meetings and contribute to some of the key decisions – including the colour of the windows and doors. Some of the original sketch drawings were also shared and used in the design phase.During these early phases, Smart’s technical team provided support to building consultancy services company, AECOM, developing solutions and design details that would be put forward to Plymouth City Council for approval.One of the challenging aspects of this work was designing a permanent ventilation system for the top of the main façade, which features curved windows that slope back into building – the solution having to allow free movement of air while also keeping out the rain.Smart’s Alitherm Heritage Windows were ultimately specified for the project, the system having been designed and developed to suit sensitive refurbishment projects such as this – often involving listed buildings. However, unusually the specification called for single-glazing and so Smart manufactured a new die to create a single-glazed bead for the system to meet the client’s requirement.For the remodelled entrances, Smart’s Commercial Door system was then selected, with the entrance doors supplied in a polyester powder coated white finish and the Alitherm Heritage windows in a silver anodized finish.The programme was not only technically challenging, given the building’s unorthodox shape and listed status, but also logistically complex. As it is such a busy market, the work was phased to keep disruption to both traders and the public to an absolute minimum, with a lot of installation work taking place outside the market’s normal opening hours.

Situated in the heart of Bristol’s city centre, the imposing Electricity House has been restored to its former glory by developer Crest Nicholson, bringing back the building’s distinctive art deco style.Originally designed by renowned architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the Grade II-listed building is situated within a conservation area, and has been transformed into a mixed-use development of 85 high-specification luxury apartments and commercial space. Many of the original art deco features have been recreated, including the style of the window and door systems from Smart Architectural Aluminium, specified both for their authentic appearance and outstanding performance.Supplied and installed by Techniglaze, one of Smart’s specialist fabricator and installer partners, the company’s Alitherm Heritage system provided the perfect solution for windows from the first to the fifth floor of the building. In excess of 300 windows were supplied and installed by Techniglaze, including 225 Alitherm Heritage units.On floor five, the windows are fully opening, whereas on the lower floors, dummy vents and opening lights (with handles and friction stays) have been installed; these will then be made openable once the surrounding area is pedestrianised, but will remain locked in the meantime. Head boxes have also been fitted to the top of these windows to facilitate the installation of a natural ventilation system.Despite the exceptionally slim lines of the Alitherm Heritage system, the units accommodated 36mm double glazed units to cater for the different levels of acoustic requirements specified by an acoustic engineer.Speaking after the project was completed, Spencer Newman, Techniglaze Director, said: “This was both a technically and logistically challenging project, set right in the heart of Bristol city centre, but we are all delighted with the outcome. We worked closely with the Smart team and the client, Crest Nicholson, to make sure we were able to realise their design and performance aspirations.”Developed to precisely match the slim profiles of traditional steel windows that are a feature of many heritage projects and listed buildings, Alitherm Heritage nevertheless delivers the exceptional thermal performance associated with modern aluminium systems. This enables a ‘B’ grade window energy rating to be achieved - when fabricated with the correct specification and glazed unit.Smart Eco Futural system provided an equally elegant and thermally-efficient solution for the fifth floor balcony doors. 10 sets of double doors were specified, together with seven sets of Smart Wall commercial doors for the ground floor retail areas - including one automatic door for the disabled access entrance.The window and door profiles were all produced in a dark brown polyester powder coat finish (RAL 8070) to match the building’s original fenestration, providing a robust, durable and low-maintenance finish.Smart’s Managing Director, Eddie Robinson said: “Electricity House was exactly the sort of scheme that Alitherm Heritage was designed for, with the project sympathetically developed to retain this imposing landmark in the heart of Bristol’s city centre. The system has helped maintain the aesthetic integrity of the original building, but at the same time enables the building managers and apartment owners to benefit from the comfort and cost efficiencies that modern aluminium materials deliver.”

Originally built in the 1930s, 33 Colston Street had been home to Bristol’s YMCA hostel until the freehold was bought by the University of Bristol in 2009. The university then carried out a £6 million refurbishment programme to provide 121 study bedrooms and communal areas for students, undergoing a complete refurbishment prior to accepting students for the first time in 2011.Smart Alitherm Heritage windows were specified for the project, the lines exactly matching the original steel windows that had been a feature of the building’s design. The upper floor casement windows were installed in a white polyester powder coated finish, and incorporated acoustic night vents to help maintain air flow while keeping external noise out of the building. Smart also supplied its Smart Wall framing system and entrance doors for the ground floor (in a brown finish) with the glazed panels featuring a unique selection of ‘etched’ drawings depicting various local scenes. The whole glazing scheme helped contribute to the achievement of a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’.

The first phase of the refurbishment of the University of Glasgow’s Joseph Black Building is well underway, with Smart Architectural Aluminium’s Alitherm Heritage window and door system being installed throughout.The £34 million refurbishment of this iconic, A-listed building has been designed to give it a completely new lease of life, preserving the design heritage of the building while introducing modern, high-performance, high-quality materials.Due for completion in September 2020, this first phase of work covers the replacement of all the windows and doors in the external envelope of the 17,000m² building. The work was commissioned to upgrade the fabric of the building, improve its efficiency and performance and make it a better research, learning and teaching environment for staff and students.More than 1,100 Smart Alitherm Heritage windows are being installed, with the windows featuring a new transom shadow detail, developed specifically for this project within just eight weeks. This extraordinary turnaround included the production and approval of two sample transoms and the manufacture of three new extrusion dies. The detailed design also included the provision for new EPDM gaskets to be used, to ensure that none of the gasket was visible from the unusual drip detail above the window hinges.A stunning feature of the building is the 10.8m-tall window units, installed above the main reception and stairwells, the design of which has been faithfully recreated using the proven Alitherm Heritage system. Developed to precisely match the slim profiles of original steel windows that are a feature of heritage projects and listed buildings such as this, Alitherm Heritage nevertheless delivers the exceptional thermal performance associated with modern aluminium systems.The Joseph Black building is home to the University’s School of Chemistry and houses a combination of lecture rooms, laboratories and offices. As a consequence, the refurbishment programme has been subject to detailed planning to reduce impact on building users.In terms of matching the original window profiles, it was critical that the design maintained the essence of the building’s ‘art-modern’ design and replicated the lines of 1930’s steel windows. The team designed the new cill and gasket details to ensure that an almost exact match to the original design was achieved.Alitherm Heritage has helped maintain the aesthetic integrity of the original building, but at the same time enabled the staff, students and estates management team to benefit from the comfort, performance and cost efficiencies that modern aluminium materials deliver.

Windows and doors from our Alitherm Heritage range featured in the refurbishment of the Art Deco-style Lanchester Building in Watford, the building being locally listed due both to its historical and its architectural significance.Originally built in 1938, the Lanchester Building has been completely transformed by Martindales Architects into a two-form entry primary school and nursery for West Herts Community Free School Trust, and is now home to the Lanchester Community Free School.With a design requirement to retain the slim lines of the building’s original steel windows, so closely associated with Art Deco buildings, over 70 window assemblies (covering approximately 650m² in total) and 15 door entrance assemblies were installed from our Alitherm Heritage range, the doors being set in the Smart Wall framing system. The window and door profiles were all finished in white polyester powder coating at our state-of-the-art paint facility, matching the materials being replaced and providing a robust, durable and low-maintenance finish.Despite a particularly tight build programme to meet the school’s opening date, the windows and doors were all installed on-time by Dotcom Glazing who worked closely throughout the project with Smart’s technical support team, Martindales and the main contractor, Borras Construction.

Smart Architectural Aluminium’s Alitherm Heritage window system has been installed in Linden Homes’ redevelopment of the Grade II listed Purifier House, located at the heart of Bristol’s Harbourside area.Originally built in the 1820s, the building was in regular use as a gas purifying station up to the 1960s, at which point it fell into a state of disrepair and became derelict in the 1970s. Despite the fact that all that remained of the building was its existing walls (which were strapped and braced to avoid further deterioration) as it was situated in the City Docks Conservation Area, it was listed to Grade II status in 1985.Linden Homes’ redevelopment has transformed Purifier House into elegant waterfront homes in what has become one of Bristol’s most vibrant locations. 28 apartments have been created above ground floor retail and café space which overlooks the Harbourside and provides a valuable addition to the area. However, due the building’s listed status, the specification of the doors and windows was a crucial element in securing planning approval, with a requirement to mirror the traditional aesthetics of steel fenestration that is typical of heritage buildings.Fabricated and installed by Salisbury Glass, one of Smart’s specialist partners, the selection of Smart’s Alitherm Heritage system provided the perfect solution. The system allowed the buildings iconic arch-headed and bullseye windows to be re-created in modern materials, maintaining its distinctive appearance while delivering the benefits of an aluminium window system.Commenting on the development, Smart Managing Director, Eddie Robinson said: “Purifier House is one of the real landmark buildings on Bristol’s Harbourside, and it is fantastic to see Linden Homes return this iconic building to its former glory.“This is another great example of our Alitherm Heritage system being used in a sensitive location, enabling the developer to achieve the traditional aesthetics that are required, while at the same time being able to realise the thermal, programme and performance benefits that are associated with modern aluminium solutions.

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.

Completed in 2010 for Bristol City Council, this impressive primary school refurbishment programme featured the installation of Smart’s Alitherm 600 casement windows and MC Wall curtain walling system - in conjunction with ‘Trespa’ insulated panels.The rapid installation of the thermally-broken MC Wall makes it the perfect solution for fast track, time-critical projects such as school refurbishments, whilst its concealed transoms allow seamless glass-to-glass joints to be achieved to create an elegant, contemporary façade, which is capable of accommodating all of Smarts window and door systems.

The installation of new Smart Alitherm 600 windows made a significant improvement to Ivanhoe College in Leicestershire, not only to its outward appearance, but also to the learning environment and to the energy efficiency of the building - with fuel and heating costs having been reduced by over 25%. This follows the successful completion of the first phase of this extensive refurbishment programme in March 2013, with the windows having been installed with minimal disruption to both staff and pupils.

Built on the site of a public house that had been derelict for years, this exclusive development of three- and four-story buildings provides accommodation for students from the nearby University of East Anglia.The development has been designed to be sympathetic to the surrounding area, and features Smart’s high-performance Alitherm 800 window system, as well as Smart Wall framing and anti-finger trap doors, and Visoglide Plus sliding doors, which open out on to a common patio area..

The multi award-winning Tidemill Academy was central to the regeneration of Deptford town centre, the stunning building creating a brand new facility for local residents.With Smart’s MC Wall curtain walling system at its heart, the Academy’s façade incorporates a number of striking features – including the building’s distinctive gold-coloured, perforated panels which have been used to clad the curtain walling. Smart Wall entrance doors to the school reception area complete the exterior of the building.

Completed in August 2017, the award-winning University of Roehampton library is at the heart of the university’s 54 acre campus in Wandsworth. Providing a light, modern and spacious environment for the university’s students and staff, the striking new library provides over 1,200 study spaces, staff support and work areas over four floors, as well as being home to around 350,000 books.The new building features a range of Smart architectural systems, including EcoFutural doors, Smart Wall and MC Wall curtain walling. Given that the library has been designed to be a passive building in terms of energy, with highly-insulated facades and high levels of air-tightness, the highly thermally-efficient EcoFutural system was specified for the library’s doors, with the striking large-format units a key element of the building’s design.The design of the curtain wall system also created a dramatic façade, featuring concealed transoms which have enabled seamless ‘glass-to-glass’ joints to be used, as well as accommodating a series of masonry panels which were hung from it.The versatile, high performance door system has been used to excellent effect to enhance the aesthetics of the new Roehampton library building, and has also been used in a range of new build and refurbishment projects across the UK, including both commercial buildings and residential developments.

In 2014, the Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust embarked on a major refurbishment programme to replace the windows and doors of the hospital’s Esher Wing. The work was commissioned not only to improve the building’s aesthetics, but also improve thermal performance, reduce energy costs and deliver improved patient, visitor and staff comfort.The seven-storey block contained a mix of wards, operating theatres, maternity units and administration facilities, with all four elevations still featuring the building’s original 1960s, heavy-duty steel windows which were well beyond their useful life. As a consequence, the performance of the windows had become extremely poor, with both drafts and water ingress causing major issues.After an exhaustive scoping and tender process, the trust awarded a management contract to construction consultants Pellings, who took responsibility for the detailed design, specification, procurement and project management of the whole programme. ARJ was subsequently appointed main contractor, with the fenestration fabrication and installation contract being won by Heritage Window Systems (HWS), one of Smart Architectural Aluminium’s specialist partners.Having been appointed, HWS’s first task was to undertake a full survey of the wing, which revealed a significant variation in the size of the window apertures. To address this, Heritage and Smart developed a novel solution – effectively based on a curtain wall ‘grid’ system with variable trim to allow for the different size of the window units.Chris White from HWS explains: “This was the only way that we could meet the programme and give the installation team enough flexibility on site to react to programme changes. We sourced colour-matched trims for the windows and then trimmed each one on site to exactly meet the dimensions of the aperture.“Although the size of the windows was quite large – nominally, each was six metres wide by three metres high - our experienced teams of fabricators and installers were certainly able to deal with units of these dimensions. The main issues we faced were logistical. With work being carried out as the hospital continued to operate, we had a very exacting programme to follow – and a period of just nine hours to complete the upgrade for each unit, whether that was a ward, a theatre or an office. In that time, our teams had to take out the old windows, fit the new units, change the radiator and clean the area to a clinical standard.“We also undertook the work through the summer of 2015 which had some very high temperature spikes, leading to a rise in admissions and occupancy of many of the hospital’s wards. At one time, the hospital also had to create an isolation ward due to an outbreak of the Novara virus. As a result, our programme was subject to change at very short notice, and our contract manager was based on site for the duration of the work to make sure we kept in daily contact with all parties.”HWS completed the work in just eight months, starting on site in April and completing just before Christmas, 2015. During this time, the company installed around 1,200 Smart Eco Futural windows - with a combination of tilt and turn and bottom-hung casement windows – as well as seven sets of Smart Wall double doors and the MC 600 curtain wall grid system. MC600 was specified due to the requirement to hang brise soleil units from two of the building’s elevations, with HWS fabricating a bespoke bracket to accommodate this.The materials were finished to one of Smart’s own colour formulations from the company’s Sensations range, with an Antique Grey finish specified for the external profiles and Velour for the internal.Paul Dancey, Operations Manager of BMI’s Coombe Wing which formed part of the refurbishment programme said: “The whole project was exceptionally well managed, with the clear communications between all parties a vital component of its success. As a result of the programme, we now have state-of-the-art windows which have considerably improved patients’ comfort and provided a much improved working environment for all hospital staff.”Ian Nunn from Pellings had the final word: “This was a technically and logistically challenging project, but one which was successfully delivered on time and under budget, thanks to a true partnership approach. All parties – Pellings, ARJ, HWS and Smart worked extremely collaboratively to ensure that the programme was achieved with as little disruption to the hospital’s staff, patients and visitors as possible.“While inevitably in a project of this complexity issues did arise, they were resolved quickly and collaboratively to ensure that the work remained on track. The end result is a much-improved appearance and a building which is warmer, weather-proof, more energy-efficient and better ventilated.”

This striking new medical practice in Cromer town centre provides a range of modern facilities as part of a community healthcare hub with the local hospital.Providing a light and airy feel, the building design features Smart’s Smart Wall framing system throughout, which incorporates Smart Wall auto slide doors. Also featuring Alitherm 600 windows, all the aluminium systems are finished throughout in slate grey and feature solar control glass to reduce the amount of heat entering the building.

This ground floor extension to a Georgian farmhouse in the Gloucestershire village of Shurdington, features two glazed walls which unite the property’s outdoor and indoor space and which frame the magnificent views beyond.With Smart Slide 2000 sliding doors and Alitherm 300 windows and doors, the systems fit perfectly with the elegant design and style of this stunning contemporary project, complementing the new limestone block work and paving as well as the existing building’s traditional stone walls.