8 Salisbury Square – large-size structural glazing

8 Salisbury Square is a modern, 10-storey office building situated in the heart of the City of London. Owing to a thorough reorganisation of its use, the building gained additional office space and a modernised façade with contemporary glazing. PRESS GLASS supplied near 200 m2 of complex point fixed structural glazing to the centre-piece two storey ground floor main entrance screens.

The office building, advertised as a “space to think”, is located behind the bustling Fleet Street, in a quiet area complete with garden access. TP Bennet Architects’ design involved renovating and thoroughly reconstructing the postmodern building.

The architectural and construction design provided new Grade A office accommodation over lower ground, ground and eight upper floors, and benefited from impressive external terraces on five floors. The original structure has been reinforced and extended by approx. 3,200 m2 additional office space.

The development offers over 14,000m2 of Class A office spaces, including 6 roof terraces with views across the City. A highlight of the building is its modern, two-storey ground floor reception, with glazing reaching just under 6 metres. The reception is illuminated by three separate structural glazed screens.

The doorway is situated in the highest central screen, measuring over 5,800mm. According to the design requirements PRESS GLASS produced and supplied high complexity silicone-sealed tempered and laminated insulated glass units (IGU’s) and structural glass fins.

To improve thermal insulation and reduce uncomfortable heat gain, all IGU’s incorporated the latest technology triple silver solar control coatings. T

o comply with the client’s request to obscure structural steelwork behind the façade, some IGU’s also incorporated a high quality digital print. The IGU’s & glass fins where installed using articulated stainless-steel point fixings, processed and supplied as part of the IGU construction, to a very high tolerance.

“With historic suppliers providing standard products to the main façade and with no prior trading history between our two companies, the specialist façade contractor approached PRESS GLASS quite late in the project, to find a delivery partner for the most structurally complex glazing elements to be installed in the new façade. PRESS GLASS assisted with the design and supply”, commented Matthew Kershaw, Area Sales Manager, PRESS GLASS UK.

One should note the proportions and dimensions supplied. The left and right screens incorporated panes up to 1900mm x 4000mm with the central screen utilising dimensions as challenging as 400mm x 5800mm.

The sizes, the special handling required to protect the delicate glass coating, the printing of the glass, the complex processing requirements for the structural point fixings and the specialist packing and transport required to get product to site safely all required an individual approach to each stage of the order implementation – from concept to delivery.

“PRESS GLASS is proud to have been selected by the client to make the largest and most difficult glazing for the building,”, adds Matthew Kershaw.

The building was commissioned for use on 14 November 2017.