Doors, Windows & Fittings
Kawneer glazing systems help bring
spectacular aesthetic to a new London HQ
the Kawneer curtain walling featuring
on the ground to top floors and the
AA®100 SSG parallel-opening vents on
all but the ground floor. The AA®720
doors feature on the main entrance
and top floor which also features a roof
terrace.
Sam Frankland added: “We wanted to
create spaces filled with light and views
out over London so we opted for fully-
glazed panels with a simple frit to give
an element of privacy and a degree of
visual interest to the façade.”
The aluminium Kawneer systems were
installed over eight months by a team
of six from approved specialist sub-
contractor/dealer JPJ Installations for
main contractor Willmott Dixon.
The charity that today bears the name
of Sigmund Freud’s sixth and youngest
child was first established almost 70
years ago and its approach, that every
child and its family should be at the
heart of the care they receive, working
in partnership with professionals, has
been reflected in Penoyre & Prasad’s
design.
Manufacturer’s parallel
opening window vents
feature at the Anna Freud
Centre.
Parallel opening window vents by
leading manufacturer of architectural
glazing systems Kawneer were specified
for a mental health project that is
arguably without parallel.
Some 88 of Kawneer’s AA®100 SSG
parallel opening vents were used as
concealed windows, to maintain the
same aesthetic as the façade, within
AA®100 mullion-drained curtain
walling and AA®720 doors on the new
£40 million London headquarters of
the world-famous Anna Freud National
Centre for Children and Families.
The Kawneer systems were specified
by architects Penoyre & Prasad as they
were a “cost-effective” solution to their
needs and enabled them to use the
same systems for all areas of curtain
walling and rooflights.
Architect Sam Frankland said: “We had
an aspiration to create a very clean,
paired-down façade that would give
clear cohesion to the various buildings.
Having scissor-action windows helped
emphasise the planar quality when the
windows are open.”
The project has enabled the relocation
of the mental healthcare charity to
bring together its global expertise in
practice, research and policy under one
roof from its residential properties in
Hampstead to a purpose-built facility
near King’s Cross. This comprises a six-
storey new-build and the refurbishment
of a century-old former chocolate
factory and warehouse.
All of the Kawneer glazing systems
feature a diagonal frit on the glass, with
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This needed to be striking to reflect the
charity’s aspirations to reflect its status
as a world-renowned organisation
working with eminent academic
institutions as University College
London and Yale.
This itself presented a challenge,
bringing together the multiple needs
of the individual users of the building,
from children and their families in need
of support, to researchers, clinicians
and internationally-renowned visiting
academics attending symposia.
At the front, in the space made vacant
by the excavation of a former courtyard,
is the new six-storey building housing
shared conference facilities and the
Pears Family School which is sponsored
by the Anna Freud Centre. This caters
for up to 48 youngsters who have been
excluded from school or alternative
education provision and helps them
return to mainstream education.