Back in the late 1960’s, Architect Richard Rogers designed and completed ‘22 Parkside’ with his then wife Su Brumwell, he considers this residential project to be one of the best examples of his early work. He links it to a far more spectacular and famous building, the Pompidou centre in Paris, which he had just begun work on at the time with Renzo Piano.
Four years ago, 22 Parkside was granted Grade II listing and is now widely regarded as one of Lord Rogers best examples of his early postmodern architecture.
Lord Rogers donated the building to the Harvard Graduate School of Design who appointed architect Philip Gumuchdjian and his practice to refurbish the property whilst maintaining the unique appearance of this iconic structure. One of projects' features was its design as a kit of parts that could be quickly assembled on site, something that was quite radical at the time.
During the refurbishment, one of the main criteria was the replacement of all 36 wall panels. These were the original 2” thick aluminium faced ‘Alcoa’ wall panels, complete with a rigid Asbestolux lining and polyurethane insulated core. With the safe removal of the asbestos filled wall panels, the original aluminium framed doors, windows and ventilators were removed from the panels and refurbished.
With the assistance of Aluprof UK, new panels were designed around the company’s high-performance MB-59S system which were of 75 mm thickness and incorporated a rigid polyurethane insulation and fire board covered with a 2mm powder coated aluminium skin to both sides. The new panels were designed to match the original Alcoa panels and consisted of a new joining ‘zip’ gasket, again to match existing, extruded from EPDM. The original aluminium framed doors, windows and ventilators were then refitted into the new panels with new EPDM gaskets. The newly installed panels now have a U value of just 0.4 W/m2K.
Aluprof is delighted to have been involved with the grade II listed project which typifies the companies flexible and bespoke approach to all construction projects, either new or of a complex refurbishment arrangement such as this.
Aluprof’s extensive range of systems which include unitised curtain walling, sliding folding doors and a wide range of window systems are increasingly being specified in a variety of residential and commercial projects across the UK. All systems are designed and installed by selected, specially trained companies to ensure each product meets the Aluprof exacting standards. Further information is available on the company website at aluprof.co.uk and specialist advice is available directly from Aluprof’s UK offices on 0161 941 4005.