Issue 37 Spring 23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 53
Steel Window Association
member completes heritage
refurbishment within
Woolwich Arsenal
While recent decades have seen Woolwich Arsenal
transformed from a near derelict munitions factory to
become one of south London’s most iconic redevelopments, restoration and repurposing work continue apace,
with a recently completed contract involving Steel
Window Association member, ASWS, highlighting both
the challenges and the opportunities the complexity of
the buildings can present.
others where the openings were to be blocked up or
replaced by new doors. While the company’s operatives
are well experienced at demounting very old windows
without damage, these posed a particular challenge in
that the outer frames had been deeply recessed into the
brickwork to help withstand a possible explosion, from
inside or outside, with the history of the building and its
location.
Aside from converted and new-build residential
properties, the huge site has also seen numerous
businesses and social enterprises established, including
Woolwich Works, a creative quarter for the arts which
includes spaces such as The Firework Factory, The
Laboratory and The Cartridge Factory. ASWS has
undertaken a number of contracts within the borough,
leading to the local conservation officer recommending
the company to Mace Interiors, which was awarded the
contract to completely refit five separate buildings, with
Bennetts Associates being the architectural practice
leading the design work.
The 12 windows measuring 2,400mm high by 1,500mm
were removed to the London premises of ASWS for
careful grit-blasting and the replacement of many heavily
corroded sections. In part, this work was facilitated by
the company’s astute decision to conserve the three unwanted frames rather than simply scrapping them. During
the course of its project, this trio became the “Frankenstein” of donor frames for a number of repairs carried out
by ASWS.
This reuse rather than the building industry’s default of
recycling old metal offered the client significant cost savings and helped maintain the integrity of a truly historic
complex which dates back to the end of the 17th century.
Within Buildings 19 and 41, ASWS was tasked with
refurbishing over a dozen large steel windows, including
10 with semi-circular heads, and the removal of three
Pictured below is Woolwich Arsenal where Steel Window
Association member, Associated Steel Window Services
(ASWS), completed a recent heritage refurbishment."
Conservation & Heritage Journal
51
