214 Oxford Street
Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) was instructed to deliver external commercial facade cleaning services on this Grade II listed Portland stone building, removing decades of urban pollution without disrupting trade on one of Europe’s busiest retail streets.
With scaffolding ruled out due to footfall and security concerns, our scaffold-free Façade Gommage process proved the definitive solution. Operating from a self-contained, truck-mounted cabin, our commercial façade cleaning team worked entirely outside retail hours, mobilising and vacating before morning rush hour.
This water- and solvent-free commercial façade cleaning services gently restored all 400m² of façade across just two nights, ensuring zero disruption to trade.
Solutions provided
GETTING 214 OXFORD STREET IN TIP-TOP SHAPE
214 Oxford Street is a significant retail and office complex framing the northeast quadrant of Oxford Circus, in the heart of the UK’s main retail destination. Building work commenced in 1912 based on the architectural designs of Sir Henry Tanner. While the primary structure was completed in 1923, a transition in ownership resulted in an eastern extension being added in 1924. The Portland stone façade presents a Classical style with Beaux-Arts details, complemented by distinctive neo-Grec features on the 1924 wing.
From 1924, the site served as the home of the Peter Robinson department store, which had expanded from its founding in 1830 by systematically acquiring its rivals along Oxford and Regent Streets. After being purchased in 1946 by Burton’s (which later evolved into the Arcadia Group), the department store brand grew to over 39 locations across the UK. In 1964, to try to attract a younger demographic, the group opened Peter Robinson's Topshop on the third floor of its Sheffield branch. By 1965, the basement floor of 214 Oxford Street had been converted into a Peter Robinson's Topshop.
Towards the end of the 1970s, the Peter Robinson brand had all but disappeared entirely, having been fully superseded by the meteoric rise of Topshop. By 1994, 214 Oxford Street had become home to the flagship TopShop store, also known as ‘Big TopShop’. After the Arcadia Group collapse in 2021, the landmark site was acquired by the Ingka Group for £378 million to serve as a major new high-street destination for Swedish furniture retailer, IKEA.
Styles Façade Solutions® reveals the striking contrast between cleaned and untreated stonework on the ornate capital at 214 Oxford Street, London. The carved scrollwork and rosette detailing emerge in pale stone, showcasing the transformative results of the façade cleaning process.
HERITAGE CARE ON EUROPE’S BUSIEST SHOPPING STREET
With significant dirt and grime build-up on the Portland stone façade of the Grade II listed building due to urban pollution and the notorious London weather, the Arcadia Group wanted to peel away the decades of dirt and grime to make the store more inviting to its customers. Styles Façade Solutions® was instructed to return the façade to its original glory without impacting sales at the store.
Situated on one of Europe’s busiest retail streets, with a high footfall, non-stop public transport, and inner-city traffic, traditional scaffolding was entirely out of the question. Concerns surrounding street-level safety and site security further complicated the brief. For these reasons, our Façade Gommage cleaning process was selected as the definitive approach, eliminating the need for intrusive, unsightly and expensive scaffolding.
RAPID NIGHT-TIME DEPLOYMENT AND COMPLIANCE
The operational flexibility of the powerful system allowed the entire cleaning process to operate completely outside of standard retail operating hours. As the system is operated from a self-contained cleaning cabin which is attached to a truck-mounted, hydraulic boom, our specialist technicians and equipment were able to mobilise, conduct the cleaning and entirely vacate the site before the onset of morning rush-hour traffic.
The system uses a water-free and solvent-free method that is sympathetic to the preservation needs of heritage buildings like 214 Oxford Street. The comprehensive clean of the 400m2 Portland stone façade was completed flawlessly over just two nights, ensuring absolute continuity of trade and minimal disruption to pedestrians, shoppers and building occupants.
“It is always a delight to work on such a high-profile asset at one of Europe’s busiest retail destinations. 214 Oxford Street perfectly highlights the commercial advantages that our scaffold-free, heritage-grade cleaning system delivers to fast-moving retail environments. This successful project further expands our extensive portfolio of completed landmarks across Oxford Street.”
Mark Styles, Managing Director, Styles Façade Solutions
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