Clearview National April 2020 - Issue 221 | Page 31

DOORS&WINDOWS
Restoration work reveals hidden
history of broadcasting building
» THE DETAILED REPAIR AND
maintenance work undertaken by a member
of the Steel Window Association on Bush
House, part of a former broadcasting
premises on London’s Aldwych, has not only
helped restore the appearance of the facades;
it has seen the specialist contractor rectify
wartime bomb damage and preserve a system
of antique bronze postboxes.
Croydon-based, Associated Steel Window
Services (ASWS), is widely experienced in
such work and had successfully completed a
similar contract on Phase 1 which addressed
the central and north-eastern blocks now
occupied by Kings College University. ISG
was the main contractor for both phases.
Working floor by floor across the ten-
storey building, ASWS set about removing
excess paint from all of the old W20 steel
windows and demounting all of the original
ironmongery for repair and lubrication. This
included handles, stays and the brass ‘budget’
locks while some of the more badly-worn
hinges had to be replaced with ones from the
contractor’s stock of replicas.
In total, 500 opening lights across
189 windows and 22 sets of
double doors were treated.
Any areas where the frames
that had been taken back to
bare metal were spot primed,
and prepared for repainting
by ISG’s decorating sub-
contractor.
Ironically, while ASWS was
required to remove 3,000 sheets of
film from the inside of the single glazing, the
project also revealed that some of the frames
on the Aldwych elevation had been pitted
by a Luftwaffe bomb during the blitz while
several of the street level shop frontages had
also been distorted by the blast. These were
taken away to the ASWS workshops to be
painstakingly straightened and have new
sections fitted where necessary.
Commenting on the success of the project,
ISG’s contract manager, Kevin
George said, “As is common
on such projects, ASWS
was further called upon to
carry out restoration of
architectural metalwork
around the historic interior
to the old BBC premises.
This included careful cleaning
and polishing of the building’s
internal post system where chutes
connect the basement sorting room to boxes
on the stair landing at each floor. These are
marked as either “London & Abroad” or
“Country”.
www.steel-window-association.co.uk
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