Selectaglaze combats noise of HS2 at Grade II Listed building

Selectaglaze was recently chosen to aid the refurbishment of the Grade II Listed 30 Euston Square building, originally built in 1906 and cited as one of the most significant works of the architect Arthur Beresford Pite (1861-1934).

The building was acquired by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), who have taken up the challenge of refurbishing and upgrading its spaces.

Selectaglaze has a long-standing relationship with RCGP and has carried out various installations to different parts of the building over the years. Located in an extremely busy part of London and having only single glazed steel or timber casements, thermal insulation and notably noise insulation needed to be upgraded to improve the environment for the users.

The State Room on the top floor is often let out for private functions, yet suffered from noise ingress through the roof lights spanning the length of the room. To make it more attractive for the users of the space, it was decided to treat them with secondary glazing.

However, due to the extra weight of the frames and heavy acoustic glass, some preliminary work had to be done, with reinforced steel framing added to support the secondary glazing. Side hung casements were specified and installed which enabled full access to be maintained for cleaning and maintenance of the roof lights. In addition, it also gave an uninterrupted view of the original glazing.

On a few of the lower floors, there are study rooms where GP members can stay when they are on College business. Secondary glazing has been installed there to prevent noise from passing traffic.

The lower floors also contain examination rooms, where around 3,000 GPs a year take their final assessments. These rooms required optimum noise reduction to enable complete concentration for students who were near to gaining their medical qualifications. A number of units were installed, including vertical and horizontal sliding units and side hung casements.

In 2012/2013, Selectaglaze came back to install secondary glazing to other areas of the building, which were either used for RCGP staff or as tenanted office areas. The option of double glazing was explored for all the treatments, but as the building is Listed, the original windows had to be retained.

Yet, even if new windows had been installed, the preferred reduction in dB would not have been reached. Secondary glazing is not only accepted in Listed buildings by most heritage agencies, due to it being a reversible adaptation; but is also the most effective method of reducing noise ingress and egress.

The local area has changed considerably in recent years, with Euston Station set to become the end point of the new HS2 high-speed rail link.

In 2016 Selectaglaze was specified to install secondary glazing to areas of the RGCP building on Stephenson Way and Euston Street to help combat any noise from the building work. Works were carried out over a number of floors to a vast number of openings, creating silent spaces for those working in the offices. All units specified grant access to the primary windows, to enable the maintenance and cleaning.

Secondary glazing is one of the most efficient methods of reducing noise ingress. If a cavity of 150mm from the primary glazing can be attained and acoustic laminate glass used, then a reduction of over 48dB can be reached. In addition, with the high-performance seals around the perimeter of the frames, thermal insulation is increased and prevents the spread of dust and dirt.

With works in the surrounding area due to be completed in 2026, the occupants should feel a difference in their offices, exam rooms, study bedrooms and other event spaces; with a nice quiet environment where they can sleep well, concentrate and hear themselves think.

Contact:

Selectaglaze,
Alban Park,
Hatfield Road,
St. Albans,
Hertfordshire,
AL4 0JJ

Phone: 01727 837271

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