The Grade II Listed Head Office is situated on the corner of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane in Smithfields – The City of London, with St Bartholomews Hospital directly opposite (another building which Selectaglaze has worked in). The area is steeped in history; the street used to be called ‘Knightriders Street’ due to the knight riding tournaments held there and you can find the ‘Golden Boy of Pye Corner’ on the outside of the Edwardian building.

Whitbread’s Premier Inn recently acquired a section of the City & Guilds Group’s Head Office and is currently constructing a brand new hotel right next door. With heavy plant machinery adjacent to offices, the noise pollution was escalating and becoming increasingly disruptive.

The company approached Selectaglaze, the leading provider of secondary glazing, for a cost effective window upgrade to all floors of their Head Office which overlooked the building site. This was to ensure a more amenable working environment, thus achieving a high level of noise attenuation. Although noise reduction was the primary aim, City & Guilds Group also knew they would also improve thermal performance with the secondary glazing. Furthermore, secondary glazing is generally accepted for use in Listed Buildings, as it is a reversible adaptation.

To create the desired noise insulation, a cavity of at least 100mm is required between the primary and secondary glazing. The existing double glazing reduces outside noise by around 35dB which with the introduction of secondary glazing will improve the reduction to at least 45dB.

51 units were installed, a wide range of products were combined for the specification, including; Series 42 fixed lights, Series 45 and 41 casements, Series 10 and 15 horizontal sliding units, all designed to suit the existing fenestration.

All units were a matt grey finish which complemented the existing windows and the frames were glazed with 6.8mm laminate ‘A’ rated safety glass. In order to keep sightlines to a minimum, all skirtings were removed and refitted after the secondary glazing went in.

Employees at the City & Guilds Group have been very impressed with the level of sound attenuation received.

“We were very impressed with the installation and quality of the products supplied by Selectaglaze. There was little supervision required from our part, the workmanship was excellent and they left the site in an immaculate condition”.

Selectaglaze is the leading specialist in the design, manufacture and installation of secondary glazing; established in 1966 and a Royal Warrant holder since 2004. Selectaglaze will be presenting its BIID approved CPD “Designing Professional Secondary Glazing Solutions for Enhancing Thermal Performance, Acoustics and Security” at the BIID CPD Providers Showcase on Tuesday 20th March at the Chesterfield Hotel, Mayfair.

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