he extensive West End Gate complex in Central London, which was designed by Michael Squire & Partners (MSP), boasts a mix of more than 700 apartments, penthouses and luxury housing.

By working collaboratively with project partners and key stakeholders from the very early stages of the design process, AluK provided Berkeley Homes with a facade design it could be confident in, while meeting the architect’s desire to mix contemporary architecture with performance, within the final de-risked tender package.

As a facade systems supplier and part of the project’s consultancy team, AluK worked closely with key stakeholders including MSP, facade consultant Cladtech and structural engineer WSP to design and develop the envelope solution from tender stage.

AluK’s technical team designed more than 14,000m² of unitised curtain wall, among other systems, to provide the envelope of a 29-storey residential tower – one of the tallest under construction in the capital.

Other companies working as part of the collaborative project team included BuroHappold as the thermal and acoustic consultant, Exova Warrington as the fire consultant and Martfier as the envelope contractor.

The value engineered design devised by AluK, in collaboration with the project partners, involved a faceted design with 72 different angles around a curved building, without compromising MSP’s design intent. Some 14,000m² of AluK’s AW86 unitised curtain wall was specified, along with 241 two-pane, single-track, lift and slide SC156 sliding doors, 750 concealed vents and 58 77ID swing doors for a full envelope and fenestration solution.

The design met the thermal requirements of the building at 0.95W/m²k as a weighted average across the facade. No renewable materials were required to supplement the facade’s performance, and external noise was minimised through the use of RW43+ CTR acoustic glass.

Russell Yates, AluK Managing Director, said: “Very early on, the importance of AluK playing a lead role in developing the design of the unitised facade for this flagship project was recognised. Our dedicated team works with partners from the design stage to ensure the exact project needs are met.

“West End Gate has thrown up challenges on the way, but through early involvement and collaboration, I believe we have played a pivotal role in assisting the design team to deliver in providing an exceptional, de-risked, tender package for Berkeley Homes.”

The first phase of the West End Gate complex has an expected completion date of summer 2020.