Spectus windows help transform iconic hotel
into luxury seafront apartments
204 bespoke Spectus windows, which
included a mixture of arched top vertical
sliders, bowed vertical sliders, circular
windows and standard vertical sliders
have been manufactured and supplied for
the sympathetic landmark refurbishment
of Cliff House, an iconic former hotel in
Felixstowe, into 24 one and two-bedroom
luxury seaside apartments.
Cliff House was built as a 100-room hotel
in 1906. It sits in a prominent position
on the seafront in a conservation area in
Felixstowe and is one of the town’s most
iconic and well-loved buildings.
Although it started life as a hotel, more
recently it had been used as offices
but had started to fall into disrepair.
Developer Dragon Wood Homes secured
the conversion of the building into 19 two
bedroom flats and five one bedroom flats
under permitted development rights.
There were several factors that made the
window requirements of the conversion
particularly complex.
The standard required – Dragon Wood
wanted to create luxury seaside apartments
that would attract a premium price tag
by retaining original features wherever
possible and maintaining the feeling of
the building with its high ceilings and sash
windows.
The location of the building – because
Cliff House was in a conservation zone in
a seafront location, the choice of materials
was crucial to meet both aesthetic and
weathering requirements.
The history of the building – Cliff House had
been the subject of several controversial
planning applications before the conversion
and local residents were particularly keen
for any new use of the building to be in
keeping with the surroundings.
The bespoke nature of the windows – with
a mix of 204 arched top vertical sliders,
bowed vertical sliders, circular windows
and standard vertical sliders required, the
selected window systems needed to have
exceptional versatility.
At the same time as the aesthetics
needing to meet exacting requirements,
the technical requirements were also
stringent. As a building being redeveloped
to offer comfortable modern living but also
sited on the seafront, the windows needed
to achieve high standards of thermal
efficiency and weatherproofing.
The windows specified were the Spectus
Vertical Slider and Elite 70 window systems
and were manufactured by specialist
Spectus fabricator Mercury Glazing
Supplies Ltd of Gloucestershire.
The Spectus Vertical Slider system is
the market leading PVC-U vertical sliding
system and is approved by planning officers
even for use in conservation areas. The
system achieves a Window Energy Rating
of Band ‘A’ with 24mm sealed units and
has pile seals to the sash and outerframe
to prevent draughts, making it an excellent
choice for a seafront location. It also offers
authentic heritage features and design
versatility, which was required in this case.
The Elite 70 window system offers a full
range of colours, decorative finishes and
ancillaries, so was capable of delivering the
heritage aesthetics required.
At the same time, it can achieve Window
Energy Ratings of Bands ‘C ‘ to ‘A+’ and co-
extruded bubble weather seals ensure the
performance meets the requirements of BS
6375-1, meaning the system was capable of
delivering modern day thermal performance
levels and protection from the seafront
elements.
All windows on the build were produced in
white woodgrain foil finish on both sides to
enhance the heritage aesthetic.
The finished result is an exceptional
example of how PVC-U heritage products
can enhance heritage refurbishments
and redevelopments while also
delivering modern day thermal efficiency
requirements.
Paul Whyman of Dragon Wood Homes said:
“Due to the age of the building and differing
window styles needed, we needed to work
with a fabrication partner who could deliver
the bespoke energy-efficient windows
needed while achieving the right balance
from a conservation point of view. Mercury
Glazing are an established specialist
fabricator and as such, their products
combined with the cutting-edge technology
delivered by Spectus more that met these
exacting standards. The quality of the
products was superb and we are delighted
with the overall high-quality result.”
www.spectus.co.uk
Tel: 0808 101 4143
Email: [email protected]
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