10 | APRIL 2018
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
DATED OFFICE TRANSFORMED INTO LUXURY FLATS
A building once used by HM Customs & Excise is being transformed from a dull and dated office block
into aspirational luxury apartments, as part of an ambitious project from Tustin Developments.
The stark lines of the
1960s building, in the
Lancashire seaside town of
Lytham St Anne’s, are being
replaced with balconies and
winter gardens, all drawn
together with modern ren-
dered facades, large sections
of glazing and alumini-
um-effect REHAU windows
and doors.
Tustin Developments, a
property development and
investment company based
in Preston and established
in 1985, recently started
exploring development
opportunities in the con-
version of office buildings
to residential properties.
Having just completed an
office to apartments project
in Preston, the company
jumped at the chance to
buy Petros House when it
came up for sale in Lytham
St Anne’s.
Andrew Roberts, Managing
Director at Tustin Develop-
ments, said: “Petros House
had stood empty for five
years and already had plan-
ning permission to convert
it into residential accommo-
dation. The previous owners
had drawn up plans for the
conversion into apartments,
which our architect worked
with to create an adventur-
ous new vision for the 1960s
building.
“From the outside, the
building was very dull but
structurally it was sound,
so we decided to keep the
floor slabs, support columns
and stairwells intact and
completely transform the
front façade with large ex-
panses of glass, private bal-
conies and winter gardens.
We used REHAU curtain
walling, which is very on
trend and gives the build-
ing a wow factor, but on a
practical note it also ensures
each apartment is flooded
with light – a big draw for
modern homebuyers.”
The plans for the develop-
ment – now named Tustin
Heights – include 35 one
and two-bedroom luxury
apartments plus a residents’
gym on the ground floor.
To achieve the glass front
effect incorporated into the
architect’s plans, Tustin De-
velopments required curtain
walling across large sections
of the building. Andrew
was asked to investigate
both aluminium and PVCu
alternatives for the curtain
walling. However, he had
some reservations about
whether PVCu products
would be structurally equal
to aluminium. He spoke to
REHAU and its preferred
fabricator and installer Per-
Fit – which specialises in
curtain walling – about the
Polytec 50 curtain walling
system and it soon became
clear that strength would
not be an issue.
Most curtain walling
systems are aluminium, but
REHAU’s Polytec 50 uses
a composite system, with
aluminium external cover
caps, steel for structural
strength, which is three
times stronger than alumin-
ium in terms of its E-Modu-
lus in N/mm2, and PVCu for
all internal surfaces/profiles.
This, as with all fenestration
solutions, helps with the
thermal performance of the
curtain wall. Polytec 50 has
also been certified as suita-
ble for Passivhaus projects
and zero carbon buildings
thanks to its excellent
thermal insulation of up to
U-value 0.8 W/m²K.
The Tustin Heights project
is due for completion in
autumn 2018.
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