253-259 Regent Street
Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) was instructed by the Crown Estate to carry out heritage commercial facade cleaning and repair across the 4,000m² Portland stone façade at 253-259 Regent Street, ahead of Microsoft’s arrival as tenant. Given the site’s location near Oxford Circus, only night-time work permits were issued, so the team worked between 22.00 and 05.00, avoiding disruption to surrounding retailers.
Using the heritage-grade Façade Gommage process, a specialist heritage building façade cleaning method, the team delivered a swift, cost-effective clean without extensive scaffolding.
Stone masons and restorers then carried out window, stone, balcony and slating restoration from mobile elevating work platforms, again working evenings. The result was a fully restored building, ready to project the right image for its new tenant on Regent Street.
Solutions provided
The Challenge: Cleaning a Grade II Listed Heritage Façade
As one of the first planned developments in London, Regent Street had been in a protracted planning process since just after the Great Fire of London in 1666. By 1766, complaints had been growing about the lack of planning throughout the West End. After a government review it was concluded that the road should be in place by 1811. A plan was developed to construct a thoroughfare connecting Marylebone Park (now Regent's Park) with the Prince Regent's Carlton House.
With the original 1810-1820 John Nash Georgian buildings starting to need work by the end of the 19th century, The Crown Estate, owner of Regent Street, looked to redevelop the road to unify the area. By 1920, with demolition underway, a new, cohesive design for the Oxford Circus interchange on Regent Street had been drawn up by Sir Henry Tanner.
The new building opened in 1925, with a number of different occupants until the 1960s when the Italian airline, Alitalia, opened its prominent ticket office on the site. It was so well known that the building gained the moniker of Alitalia House. In November 1973, the building gained Grade II listed status. By 2019, the airline had moved out, and the site had become the flagship London store for Microsoft.
Styles Façade Solutions® carries out Façade Gommage cleaning with precision and care, working safely at height to protect both heritage stonework and the busy streets below. Careful planning, controlled access and minimal disruption ensure this gentle restoration technique delivers outstanding results with total confidence.
Façade Gommage Cleaning Process Explained
Following on from spectacular results delivered for the Crown Estate at Roxburghe House in Regent Street, Styles Façade Solutions® was instructed to carry out heritage commercial facade cleaning and repair the 4,000m2 Portland stone façade of 253-259 Regent Street prior to the new tenant, Microsoft, moving in.
With the site being in one of Europe's busiest shopping areas, and close to the Oxford Circus underground station, site specific requirements would need to be followed. To help prevent any detrimental effects on surrounding retailers, only night-time work permits could be issued. As a result, the team from Styles Façade Solutions® arrived by 22.00 and work starting by 22.30. By 05.00 the team was packed up and off site. This resulted in no detrimental effects to the wider Regent Street/Oxford Circus community.
The heritage-grade Façade Gommage cleaning process offers a swift and effective clean for all commercial and heritage properties. It allows for a faster and more cost-effective cleaning process without the need to conceal the historic façade of prominent buildings for months on end in unsightly scaffolding.
Results: Restoring Regent Street's Historic Stonework
With the clean completed, our team of stone masons and restorers gained access to the façade to start the restoration works. Once again, our team worked evenings to prevent any possible negative effects on the surrounding area. These works were conducted from mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) allowing access without the need to scaffold the building.
With window decoration, stone restoration, asphalting of balconies and slating completed, along with a full façade cleaning, the new tenant could be reassured that their freshly cleaned and restored building projected the right image on Regent Street.
“When considering an exterior clean of a retail unit, using a unique system that does not require the use of scaffold is a huge benefit – not only to the safety of workers but to the functioning business as works take place. The three latest Regent Street outlets – 253-259 Regent Street (Alitalia House), 266-270 Regent Street (Spirella House) and Hamleys – add to our portfolio of leading retail clients, including Ralph Lauren and Primark, underlining the suitability of the scaffold-free Façade Gommage cleaning process to shop premises, especially in historical buildings.”
Mark Styles, Managing Director, Styles Facade Solutions
See the links below for more examples of the results Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) can deliver for your business.
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