Just a short distance from Oxford Street, Premier Public Relations’ office is a self-contained 19th century industrial building spread over five floors in Bucknall Street, London. Founded in 1983, Premier has over three decades of experience delivering marketing communications campaigns for the entertainment, arts and cultural industries and was awarded ‘PR Moment Large Agency of the Year’ in 2017.
The large yellow brick Victorian building is full of character and quirky charm; an ideal location to house the Premier teams across creative production services, PR, Events and Experiential and Brand Partnerships, deep in the heart of London’s entertainment hub. Originally used as a warehouse, the thermal and acoustic controls were not up to standard for its new use as an office space due to the inefficient single glazed Victorian windows.
Premier approached Selectaglaze for a cost-effective window improvement to their offices. This was to ensure a more agreeable working environment to achieve a high level of thermal insulation. Although this was the main aim, Premier were also interested in what could be achieved to improve noise attenuation.
Well-designed secondary glazing systems offer an affordable method of practically eliminating draughts, retaining more heat and keeping the unwanted sounds of the city out. Secondary glazing traps an insulating layer of air between the glass panes and if low emissivity glass is included, heat loss can be reduced by up to 65%. This will help improve the energy performance of buildings like the Premier offices contributing towards a higher rated Energy Performance Certificate or an improved BREEAM rating.
With Premier located close to a busy thoroughfare in WC2, high levels of outside noise can distract and dent staff efficiency. Secondary glazing set 100-150mm from the primary window and fitted with standard glass can substantially reduce noise by 42-45dB and even higher amounts if a heavier glass is preferred.
Following on from an in-depth discussion on the best treatments for the draughty openings, Selectaglaze installed 115 windows across the ground, first, second and third floors. A wide range of products were combined for the specification, the majority of which were two and three pane horizontal sliders. The Series 30 lift-out unit was specified for one particular opening to allow easy access for cleaning. Another primary window was fitted with a single side hung casement, designed to suit the existing fenestration. The minimal frames created clean lines complimenting the existing primary windows, making them unobtrusive and virtually unnoticeable. Units were installed over a few weeks to ensure that staff were not distracted by the works.
Working together with charity; ‘Sustainable St Albans’, Selectaglaze measured the changes in the thermal integrity of the primary windows before and after the addition of secondary glazing using a thermal imaging camera. Imagery is generated by thermography which identifies heat patterns in the infrared wavelength spectrum. Sensors within the camera identified these heat signatures and translated them into visible pixels. Despite the low resolution of the resulting images, the remarkable differences are apparent between treated and untreated windows.
The successful installation of secondary glazing has enhanced the working environment, with staff noticing a significant difference in thermal retention, with draughts virtually eliminated. It has also made the working environment across all the office floors more peaceful.
“We are very pleased with our secondary glazing from Selectaglaze. Providing both sound insulation in noisy Central London and a much warmer office space in the winter.” Joe Chandler, Premier
Selectaglaze is the specialist in secondary glazing, established in 1966 and Royal Warrant Holder since 2004. It boasts a wealth of knowledge and a range of extensive products to discreetly treat projects from Listed properties to new builds. Selectaglaze distributes monthly Spotlight e-bulletins, with recent updates, new blogpost and events – so sign up on spotlight blogs to not miss out.
