A redeveloped warehouse in Hackney, north London, has snapped up a major architectural refurbishment award with Crittall steel-framed windows featuring prominently in the design.
Number 16, Chart Street, is a former furniture warehouse of 1930’s vintage. Engineering contractors Heyne Tillett Steel were clients and also acted as structural engineer for the building which is now the firm’s headquarters.
The emphasis throughout by Ian Chalk Architects was re-use and sustainability providing a low-carbon footprint which helped the project win the AJ Retrofit of the Year award for a workspace up to £5m.
The original four-storey building has had a saw-tooth design floor added to the roof and a stairwell and lift shaft to one side. The dominant feature of the main elevation is four rows of white Duralife powder-coated fenestration taking full advantage of the slim profile of Crittall’s Corporate W20 windows to ensure maximum light ingress to the main interior workspaces.
The award citation for the project says “the thoroughness of the thinking, combined with a deft lightness of touch in the execution, is what is so impressive about this exceptional, low-carbon retrofit.”
Image: Edmund Sumner
