» LEADING WINDOW repair specialist, Associated Steel Window Services( ASWS), employed impressive skills to bear during a two-year refurbishment contract addressing one of London’ s best known retail landmarks. Within the project, the trio of shallow domed steel lanterns on an upper mezzanine level presented one of the most difficult challenges, both in terms of technical difficulty and logistical constraints.

Led by the client’ s agent, Avison Young, and main contractor McLaren Construction, the conversion of 214 Oxford Street- the North-East quadrant building on Oxford Circus, formerly occupied by Topshop- into a flagship for Ikea presented the team with all the complications of being

Grade II listed. In addition, the property was previously altered and badly damaged by wartime bombing. Long-term weather exposure also played a significant part when the multiple window types across the ornate elevations proved to require extensive remediation.

This included restoring a total of 342 steel frame windows, many of which dated from when the Quadrant was built between 1913 and 1928, to the designs of Sir Harry Tanner, the Principal Surveyor of the then London Office of Works. The ASWS package also encompassed tackling 14 large hardwood windows set into a mansard roof, and carrying out complex welding operations to save wrought iron balustrades on the famous frontage.

However, unseen for generations by anyone not able to access the upper storeys, have been the three lantern lights at Level Four of the building, each one having been assembled in-situ from Medium Universal suite steel sections, with the circular dome structure rising to a height of 700 mm within

a 5 x 5 metre square structure. While these would originally have brought illumination to the mezzanine area, decades of rainwater penetration and dust accumulating on the glass had rendered them almost completely opaque.

www. asws. co. uk

» WHEN YOU’ RE JUGgling multiple conservatory, window or door installations, staying organised can be just as demanding as the work itself. Details change, conversations happen and paperwork has a habit of ending up everywhere. vsHome’ s built in job management is designed to bring order to that every day chaos.

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keeping everything stored in one place and easy to find. vsHome also helps keep everyone on the same page. Quotes, reports and even 3D models can be sent directly to customers, giving them a clear picture of what’ s going to be installed. For businesses where more than one person will be involved in each project, CAST allows job information to be shared across the team so installers and office staff can access the same up to date job details whenever they need them.

By keeping everything together and easy to access, vsHome helps you focus less on chasing paperwork and more on getting the job done quickly and efficiently.

www. pstonline. co. uk