Hamleys
Following the success at Roxburghe House, the Crown Estate instructed Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) to deliver retail facade cleaning services at 188-196 Regent Street. With Hamleys remaining open and keen to avoid scaffolding, Façade Gommage—a low-pressure, water- and solvent-free external façade cleaning system—was selected.
Working overnight over two sessions, the self-contained cabin, mounted on a lorry boom, cleaned 300m² of Portland stone each night, minimising disruption to traffic and neighbouring businesses. By dawn, decades of grime gave way to creamy Portland stone.
Restoration followed: stonemasons repaired stonework, windows, lead dormers and slating, addressing damage from weather, traffic vibration and the Underground below. This commercial building cleaning and commercial façade cleaning project ensured a structurally sound, long-lasting façade, completed overnight to protect trade across Regent Street.
Solutions provided
A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE ON REGENT STREET
Part of the grand “Quadrant” development by the Crown Estate, 188-196 Regent Street has been the home of world-famous toy store Hamleys since 1881. The company, originally called Noah’s Ark in 1760, had its first location in Holborn. By 1837, Hamleys had become a London landmark, opening a second branch at 200 Regents Street. The store finally moved to its current location in 1981.
The redeveloped building was designed as part of the unified, Neoclassical master plan by Sir Richard Norman Shaw, which would see all the sites in the lower Regent Street area (the grand “Quadrant”) transformed. This was to provide the buildings with larger retail spaces and a continuous Portland stone façade.
The Grade II listed building is now globally synonymous with toys, and Hamleys even had a nearby warehouse on New Oxford Street, which was used for storing conjuring tricks. Sadly, this building burnt down in 1916, and in true magician style... disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Styles Façade Solutions® prepares for façade cleaning at Hamleys, London, with the team using a mobile elevating work platform at night to remove the store's branded flag ahead of works, ensuring the building is safely ready before the Façade Gommage process begins.
HIGH-SPEED NIGHT OPERATIONS FOR REVENUE PROTECTION
Following on from the spectacular results achieved at Roxburghe House on Regent Street, the Crown Estate instructed Styles Façade Solutions® to provide retail facade cleaning services, cleaning and restoring 188-196 Regent Street. As the store would remain open throughout the project and with a strong desire from the team at Hamleys not to have the store enveloped in unsightly, costly and time-consuming scaffolding, the Façade Gommage cleaning system was chosen as the solution.
The Façade Gommage cleaning process utilises a low-pressure, water- and solvent-free system to gently remove years of built-up dirt, grime and biofilm without damaging or altering the delicate substrate of the façade. The self-contained cleaning cabin is attached to a lorry-mounted boom which can be quickly set up, moved and packed away, allowing for operation at times that are convenient to the occupier of the building and the surrounding businesses.
For 118-196 Regent Street, our retail facade cleaning services were delivered over two nights to reduce the inconvenience to the retailer and reduce disruption to traffic and public transport. With the system on-site and operating by 23.00 each night and off-site by 05.00 the following morning, 300m2 of Portland stone façade was cleaned each night. By the end of the second night, the building revealed a beautifully creamy Portland stone beneath decades of dirt and grime.
STRUCTURAL REMEDIATION AND PRESERVATION SPECIALISM
With the cleaning process finished, the restoration works could begin. These included stone and window restoration and replacement and repair of lead dormers and slating. The years of exposure to London’s fluctuating weather, vibrations from passing traffic and the tube below had caused damage to the building's structure.
Our team of stonemasons and restorers worked across the Portland stone exterior to ensure a structurally sound façade, which would last for years to come. Once again, these works were conducted overnight to help minimise disruption to Hamleys and other businesses on one of the most important shopping destinations in London.
“When considering an exterior clean of a prime retail unit, using a unique system that does not require the use of scaffolding is a huge benefit. It not only benefits the safety of workers but also the functioning of the business as works take place. The latest Regent Street project, Hamleys, adds to our portfolio of leading retail clients, including Ralph Lauren, PRADA and Primark, underlining the suitability of Façade Gommage to shop premises, especially in heritage buildings.”
Mark Styles, Managing Director, Styles Façade 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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