Richmond Station
Styles Façade Solutions (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) played a key role in the restoration of this landmark transport hub, delivering a detailed commercial building façade survey, specialist commercial facade cleaning and repair services, including targeted stone repairs to revitalise the Portland stone exterior. With millions of passengers passing through the station each year, a scaffold-free approach was essential to minimise disruption and maintain strict project timelines.
Our initial commercial building façade survey was carried out using Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), allowing specialists to inspect the stonework closely, identify defects, and immediately make safe any loose elements. This hands-on approach provided a more detailed assessment than traditional remote surveying methods while eliminating the need for intrusive scaffolding.
Following the survey, our team completed specialist commercial façade cleaning and external façade cleaning using the Façade Gommage system. After treating biofilm and algae growth with low-pressure steam, decades of grime were gently removed without damaging the stone. The cleaned façade was then carefully repaired and restored, returning the building to its original Art Deco appearance.
Solutions provided
ALL ABOARD! THE RICHMOND STATION REFURBISHMENT
The leafy and affluent London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames has had a railway station since the early 1840s, with the current city centre station constructed at its current location in 1937. The imposing Art Deco building was designed by James Robb Scott, the architect also responsible for several other stations, including Durrington-on-Sea, Wimbledon and Waterloo.
While the building features a striking Portland stone façade, many of the original 1930s Art Deco details have been removed or changed over time. Through a joint partnership, South Western Railways and the Railway Heritage Trust sought to revitalise the building and restore many of its lost or degraded original features.
SCAFFOLD-FREE FAÇADE SURVEY
Styles Façade Solutions® was selected as one of the key specialist partners on this project to help reinvigorate and revitalise the building to its former glory. Our scope of work encompassed a comprehensive façade survey, specialist cleaning using the façade gommage process, as well as restoration and repairs to the Portland stone façade.
With a fixed deadline for completion and an estimated 8.8 million passengers using the station annually (nearly 25,000 per day), traditional scaffolding was not an option. The need to ensure the smooth flow of commuters meant that all work had to be conducted outside of normal operating hours with minimal physical footprint.
Furthermore, with multiple specialist contractors requiring our restoration works to be completed before their own phases could begin, ensuring schedules were met became imperative to prevent the project deadline from being missed. The flexibility of our scaffold-free approach was the key to maintaining this complex timeline.
Styles Façade Solutions (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) carrying out night-time Façade Gommage cleaning works on the Art Deco Portland stone façade of Richmond Station, London. The scaffold-free specialist cleaning cabin, crane-mounted at upper parapet level, enables treatment to proceed outside station operating hours, minimising disruption to passengers and the surrounding streetscape.
SCAFFOLD-FREE FAÇADE CLEAN
The initial visual survey was completed swiftly using of MEWPs (Mobile Elevating Work Platforms). This eliminated the need for intrusive scaffolding while providing a distinct advantage over drone-based surveys. Our specialists were able to get ‘hands-on’ with the stone to inspect, record and immediately ‘make safe’ any loose structural elements that posed a risk to the public.
The south-western facing façade exhibited extensive biofilm and algal growth. To address this, our team applied a high-temperature, low-pressure steam treatment to help kill off any spores or phytobacteria trapped within the stone’s surface before the primary cleaning began.
COMMERCIAL & HERITAGE FAÇADE CLEANING
Our expert team then proceeded with a deep clean of the Portland stone façade using the Façade Gommage cleaning process. This scaffold-free, water-free, low-pressure method helps to gently lift decades of grime without damaging the delicate façade substrate, which can happen if using high-pressure or solvent-based methods.
Once the surface was freshly cleaned, our expert masons worked to repair, replace and rejuvenate the Portland stone façade, ensuring every detail aligned with the building's original Art Deco glory. This combination of facade cleaning and repairs restored the stonework to its former standard while preserving the character of the original design.
“We selected Styles Façade Solutions on the basis of their innovative methodology that avoided the need for scaffolding and minimised disruption to our customers. This proved very much to be the case and in conjunction with the very effective and non-invasive façade gommage method of cleaning, gave us an impressive result. Styles Façade Solutions were also a great team to work with and were flexible and helpful at every stage of the process.”
Chris Gregory, Asset Enhancement Manager, South Western Railway
See the links below for more examples of the results Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) can deliver for your business.
Call our team TODAY on +44 (0) 20 8453 1494, alternatively use the contact us form for a FREE project quote or for more information on how Styles Façade Solutions® can help your commercial or heritage property.
Start a conversation
For commercial and heritage buildings only — tell us about your project and we will respond within one working day.