Selectaglaze preserves historical supreme court

Selectaglaze has recently helped preserve the UK’s first Supreme Court with the addition of its secondary glazing to improve the sound insulation and thermal efficiency of the historical building.

Located on Parliament Square, opposite the Houses of Parliament and close to Westminster Abbey and the Treasury Building, is the UK’s first Supreme Court. The building holds a lot of history, now converted to a Crown Court, accommodating seven criminal courtrooms and numerous cells.

Working on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, the design team for the Supreme Court, led by Feilden and Mawson and supported by Foster & Partners, developed refurbishment plans conserving the fabric of the building while creating a modern working environment. 

The main contractor, Kier Wallis, chose Selectaglaze to help improve the building’s environmental credentials and security through designs and specifications sympathetic to the complex variety of windows found in this Grade 2* listed building. One key objective was to achieve BREEAM rating ‘Very Good’ which required a significant improvement in the thermal efficiency of the windows and reduction in draughts.

Selectaglaze secondary glazing offered the ideal solution as the external windows could not be modified, so a reversible adaptation was required. The use of a hard coat low emissivity glass within the secondary window lowers the U-value, a measure of heat loss, to below 2.0.

In addition, Selectaglaze also offered a great solution to the noise from the main roads of London. The windows were glazed with a thick laminated glass for sound insulation. 

The project required 450 separate window frames ranging from hinged casement, vertical sash, fixed and horizontal sliding to sympathetically treat the very wide range of window styles. This included a significant number of gothic arches and three large shaped acoustic screens between the public gallery and Courtroom 3.

The Selectaglaze secondary glazing was fitted discretely with minimal disruption to the surroundings, providing a combination of sound insulation and thermal efficiency.

Contact:

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

Phone: 01727 837271

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