Success Story: No.1 Poultry Building
No. 1 Poultry Building Protects Occupants from Flying Glass with Strengthened Window Film from Solar Gard®
About 1 Poultry
No. 1 Poultry is one of the most distinctive buildings in London. Its unique architectural style provides a key landmark in the capital’s bustling financial district. Designed by award-winning architect Sir James Stirling, 1 Poultry is home to a range of shops and offices and offers some of the best views of the city from its rooftop.
Concerns about flying glass from explosions
Like all buildings located in the financial heart of London 1 Poultry faced an above-average risk of collateral damage from terrorist attacks. Even if a bomb exploded half a kilometre away, the subsequent shockwaves could still shatter windows and send shards of glass flying through the building. With some 800 staff employed at 1 Poultry, plus shoppers, visitors and diners, there could be upwards of 1000 people in the building at peak times.
With more than 2000 square metres of glass at 1 Poultry, the building management team was already fully aware of the risks that flying glass could pose and had installed bomb-proof window film some years ago. However, with the film having reached the end of its useful life, the decision was taken to replace it with a newer, stronger window film.
Time to upgrade
Paul Ellson, director at Signwise, the Solar Gard® Dealer and Installer that specified and installed the new window film, explains the decision to upgrade it in the first place: “Window film that’s used to offer protection from bomb-blasts faces the most stringent tests and must be replaced every seven to 10 years, depending on the manufacturer’s guidelines. We’d come to the end of the warranty period with the original film and decided to upgrade using the best available solution on the market. In this instance, it was a Solar Gard® Armorcoat® 7 mil Clear Safety Film.”
Solar Gard Armorcoat was chosen because of its reputation as a strong, resilient film that helps protect people and property from the dangers of flying, broken glass.
Armorcoat safety film works by keeping the dangerous shards of glass together after being shattered by a bomb blast, protecting building occupants as well as passersby. Designed specifically
for safety and security applications, Armorcoat film has met impact requirements for some of the most stringent tests in the industry, has been field tested for over 20 years, and comes with a 10
year warranty. Made from high-quality materials such as tough, high-tensile polyester and ultra-strong mounting adhesives, Armorcoat comes available in thicknesses ranging from 4 to 14 Mil,
with thicker films offering the greatest protection.
A clear choice
The film is also optically clear which means it does not affect the appearance of a building inside or out, allowing maximum natural sunlight through the windows. This was an essential requirement for 1 Poultry says Richard Wrathmall, the facilities manager at the building. “The new film had to be perfectly clear so as not to change the look of this iconic building. We had to ensure that the new film would maintain views from within the building, including the amount of natural light that came in. It seemed a tall order until Signwise proposed the Armorcoat film.”
Overcoming the installation challenges
With some 2000 square metres of old film to be removed and a similar amount of new film to be installed, this project posed a number of logistical challenges for Signwise. Richard Wrathmall explains why the installation needed to be trouble-free and of minimal distraction to the building occupants. “We have some 800 people working in the building at any given time. To disrupt their working environment for even a short time would have been unacceptable, but these safety measures still needed to be implemented.”
Fortunately, Signwise came up with a practical solution. Paul Ellson explains: “We estimated that this project would take the best part of six weeks to complete. We fully understood the potential for disruption from the installation so we decided to complete it out of normal business hours. Therefore, as far as the office workers were concerned, the entire installation process was, to all intents and purposes, invisible.” Wrathmall confirms this was the case. “We were able to get the new film installed with minimal disruption and, it’s true to say, most of the building occupants never knew their window film had even been changed. It was an impressive job by Signwise.” He concludes: “This installation posed many potential challenges that were solved by the practical approach taken by the installer and the qualities of the window film itself. We have eliminated the risk of flying glass without interrupting our customers, the building occupants, and have done so without any change to the appearance of the building. Clearly, a job well done.”
Installation Summary
Problem:
- Central London location demanded that precautions be taken against terrorist attacks
- A large amount of glazing posed a high risk of injury from flying glass
- The iconic building needed to maintain its look
- 800 staff could not be disturbed during the six-week installation process
Solution:
- Solar Gard Armorcoat 7 mil Clear Safety Film
Amount of film:
- 2000 sq. metres (21,500 sq. feet)
Benefits:
- Risk of injuries from flying glass in the event of an explosion has been eliminated
- Clear film provides uninterrupted views while maintaining the building’s original look
- Non-disruptive installation outside of office hours1
