St John Street in Clerkenwell underwent a refurbishment to transform the 1990’s five storey office block into a modern, high specification workspace. Located within one of London’s most dynamic neighbourhoods, this modern office space delivers a creative area within the vibrant Clerkenwell community. The original building was constructed in 1934 as offices, workshops and a garage for the Stepney Carrier Company. The original facade was ‘Mulberry’ brick and encompassed the Bauhaus style, however this refurbishment saw the St John Street ground floor facade replaced with structural glazing and re-clad in Portland stone columns to refresh the aesthetic.

A large reception area is located on the ground floor which was inspired by the Stepney Carrier building that previously occupied the site. The reception area of 100 St John Street was designed with a contemporary feel however the interior design was carefully considered to also include Art Deco references within the modern fixtures and finishes. To maintain the Art Deco aesthetic, the interior design across all the floors featured steel framed room partitions, dark metal stair rails and dark metal detailing to the furnishings. All modern glazing installed to this office refurbishment was respectfully designed to compliment the existing architectural design.

To the ground floor glass facade, the original shop front windows were opened up to create two large glazed sections either side of the main entrance doors. These large, recessed glass installations maximise the views into the ground floor reception and the showroom spaces that fills the lower ground floor level and the areas that surround reception. The symmetrical glazed facade featured three sets of Schueco aluminium framed double casement doors alongside frameless effect fixed structural glass that spanned 4.5m wide on either side of the front facade.

Each floor of the 100 St John Street office building is connected by a central lift which is decorated in back painted metal cladding to bring the building identity through to each office space. Although the Art Deco interior design is maintained on each office floor, the spaces can be easily adapted by the occupiers to suit their own needs and personalities.

The whole office development offers a high-quality workspace covering 3,574 sqft, the fifth floor also boasts terraces totalling 1,082 sqft with a composite deck finish and new frameless glass balustrades. The frameless glass balustrades enhance the wooden decked terrace by providing uniterrupted views of the London skyline and the spectacular views of St Paul’s Cathedral. This style of balustrading had a highly contemporary finish that adds a touch of sophistication while not taking anything away from the existing Art Deco architectural design.

The fifth floor also benefits from floor to ceiling glazing on three elevations, opening up the space to impressive views while flooding the fifth floor of 100 St John Street with an abundance of natural sun light. The frameless glass external walls were designed and installed by IQ Projects who worked closely with the architects to achieve elegant, frameless effect glass walls with neat silicone joins in between each pane and back painted glass spandrel panels.

The fifth-floor glass design also featured frameless glass dormers that protruded vertically beyond the plane of the pitched roof. This structural glass dormer window design was used to increase the usable office space as the roof height was extended out further that the existing roof structure. The frameless corner windows were constructed from three vertical panes of frameless structural glass, three frameless glass roof panes and two panes of shaped frameless glass for the sides of the protruding glazing. Tee frame sections were installed along the silicone joins between each glass pane to support the frameless glass dormers and to maintain the contemporary, minimalistic aesthetic.

Heat soak testing was specified for all the fifth-floor glazing which is a method that reduced the incidence of spontaneous breakage to toughened glass caused by nickel sulphide inclusions (NSI). Heat soaking is a process that changes nickel sulphide particles back to their original low temperature state to reduce the risk of the inclusions increasing in volumes, causing stress within the glazing that can cause spontaneous breakages. Heat soak testing helps to decrease the risk of an NSI as nickel sulphide contaminated glass panes are usually destroyed during this process, therefore reducing the risk of a spontaneous breakage on-site.

Various single Schueco casement doors were installed within the fully glazed facades of the fifth floor to provide access out onto the terrace and for ventilation throughout the office. The Schueco doors were finished in the same RAL colour as the joins between the glazing to provide a cohesive aesthetic to the architectural glazing design and frameless glazing detail.