Five-star refurb 
A £multi-million exterior and interior refurbishment of the five-star, 111-bedroom Athenaeum Hotel opposite London‘s Green Park included the replacement and reconfiguration of all the windows in a 30-week programme by Structura UK.
The refurbishment for Ralph Trustees was undertaken to upgrade the hotel’s energy efficiency (which included the installation of a new intelligent control system to minimise energy usage within the guest rooms) and to improve the building’s appearance and interior aesthetic.
Using for the first time in the UK Schüco’s AWS 75BS.H1 aluminium profile, finished in a powder coated metallic bronze, Structura UK, principal contractor, designed, manufactured and installed 164 double glazed, 32mm thick, high performance windows and inward opening doors to the hotel’s Piccadilly and Down Street elevations.
The side windows of each bay appear fixed, but can be opened for cleaning, and the flat windows have fixed glazing either side of the doors. The glass has a super solar control coating to prevent heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter.
The existing single glazed, aluminium, vertical pivot and vertical sliding bay windows, and aluminium, horizontal sliding flat windows did not meet modern sound-proofing standards and thermal ratings and needed replacing. Responsible for the erection of scaffolding and health and safety on site, Structura UK completed one floor at a time working down from the hotel’s 10th floor Rooftop Suite where the company installed some large sliding doors leading to a steel and timber walk-on balcony with views towards Buckingham Palace.
Structura’s £1.7m contract involved undertaking structural alterations to the existing openings to accommodate the new window and door design, thus allowing more light into the guest rooms, and installing juliet balconies. Structural works included pressure cleaning, and repairing and restoring the external Travertine stone.
The architect for the hotel’s refurbishment was Purcell Miller Tritton LLP and the structural engineers were Aecom.
