Case Study – Healthcare

Project: 114-120 Harley Street
Architect: Floyd Slaski
Main Contractor:  Mansell Construction

114-120 Harley Street

When Wimbledon-based architects Floyd Slaski were tasked with the refurbishment of 114 - 120 Harley Street in the West End’s famous medical neighbourhood by client The Howard de Walden Estate, the project presented a number of challenges. The client’s brief was to provide an open plan speculative commercial building by completely gutting the three existing buildings in the block. The façades of 114 and 118 had to be retained as a requirement of the conservation officer but the existing façade of 116 had to be demolished due to the difference in floor levels between 116 and the two adjacent buildings, 114 and 118.

As is typical for buildings in this area, the buildings extend back to two mews buildings which have also been incorporated into the scheme. The Planning Authority required that the mews retained its residential function so two one- bedroom flats were provided behind the front elevations to the mews whilst behind the rear elevation of the mews, commercial space was retained. The total commercial floor area of the scheme is 2500sq feet and the project has an estimated value of £10.8 million. After the work had started on the buildings, The London Clinic - the UK’s largest independently-owned hospital - signed a deal to occupy the space and made plans to fit out the building as a pathology lab and consulting rooms.The redevelopment took 36 months to complete. It includes 29 new consulting rooms for, amongst others, a select number of gastroenterologists, neurosurgeons, general surgeons, and those consultants forming both The London Clinic’s Liver Centre and the renowned London Spine Clinic. “The fit out fell into two distinct parts,” says Mike McCann who handled the project for Laidlaw Solutions. “However, for both parts the architects required a very high level of finish and spec throughout.” In numbers 114 - 118 the fit out was modern and contemporary and the architects specified hardware in satin stainless steel to reflect that. Elliptical levers and pull handles were selected from Laidlaw’s Orbis Premier range together with special sized push plates from the same range. These featured insert holes to take 50mm insert discs with “fire door”, “keep shut” and WC signs.

Where appropriate, locks from Laidlaw’s Orbis Commercial range with 72mm centres were specified. Orbis Premier is a co-ordinated range of architectural hardware featuring lever and pull handle designs which can be combined with a distinctive backplate system and in a ‘Dual’ finish if required. Its design features are combined with high quality performance and contemporary style which makes them ideal for such highprofile applications. In the back of house areas the client selected standard adjustable power closers from Laidlaw’s Commercial range but in front of house and public access areas, Dorma camaction TS93 door closers were used. Unlike conventional rack and pinion closers the Dorma TS93 cam-action closer has a linear drive mechanism and heart shaped cam which means that opening forces well below 30N can be achieved when adjusted to size EN3, the power requirement for fire doors. As a result, when the door is opened the opening force falls away rapidly after the first few degrees resulting in little resistance throughout the opening cycle, yet it will always ensure full and correct closure of the door. The doors were manufactured specially for the project by LS using an American cherry timber.

The architraves were special design and Laidlaw had to provide the channel and arm of the closer in as close a match as possible to enable it to be cut into the architrave. The contrast in hardware at number 120, however, couldn’t have been greater since its front of house areas had to retain the original period style. To achieve this, the architect chose satin brass knobs and levers with a clean, simple traditional design from the Brassart range. Brassart knobs and handles are manufactured in the Black Country using local materials and hand finished and polished by craftsmen using traditional techniques. A mix of horizontal and upright lock cases with suited cylinders completed the package. All the external entrance doors fronting onto Harley Street were fitted with period hardware in keeping with the area’s original Georgian style architecture.