Rathbone Square

Fitzrovia, London

Project Data

BUILDING CONTRACTOR

Great Portland Estates

ARCHITECT

Make Architects

CLIENT

Lendlease Construction

PROJECT PERIOD

2015 – 2017

FACADE AREA

18,000 m²

TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION

Elemented mullion and transom façade, perforated windows, sheet metal façade, curtain wall wood and aluminium façade, lamella façade.

For the project developer Great Portland Estates, the demolition of the Royal Mail’s old distribution centre in Fitzrovia in the heart of London provided the opportunity to create a new place for people to meet. Schneider designed, manufactured and installed the curtain wall and sheet metal façade of the two newly constructed residential and office buildings.

By 2017, a new district with 142 apartments, more than 22,000 square metres of office space, shops, restaurants and a public square with plenty of green space measuring some 1,800 square metres was built on this site. Two L-shaped buildings, with 7 and 9 storeys, respectively are grouped around the square. The architects attached great importance to natural materials and building forms that resemble the local architecture, thus, arched passageways that face towards the street, tiled with jade-green ceramic, are reminiscent of Victorian London.

The facades of both buildings are clad with elongated cream-coloured brick panels; matt in colour facing towards the street, and glazed when facing towards the square. While Schneider implemented a unitised facade with large window areas and structured stainless steel sheets for the commercial building, the facades of the residential building consist of perforated windows, a unitised facade and bronze anodised aluminium cladding. Elements in various formats and anodised shades were produced for the sheet metal facade, which covers an area of some 1,500 square metres.