Baskerville House is one of Birmingham’s most familiar and iconic landmarks, situated in the heart of the citys Centenary Square. Built on the site of an old manor house once owned by the renowned local man of letters, John Baskerville, the building has recently undergone a dramatic transformation, with Crittall Windows heavily involved in the multi-million pound redevelopment.

Developers, Targetfollow, purchased the empty property in 2000 with a view to completely renovating the structure into Grade A office space. Working with main contractors, Alfred McAlpine, and project management team, Mace, they developed a design brief that included the replacement of over 300 windows with Crittall’s Corporate 2000 profile.

The original windows were sliding sash and the developers were keen to replicate this style, explains Crittall’s regional manager, John Boardman. Together, we produced a special detail for fixed light windows, double glazed to improve both thermal and acoustic performance, whilst maintaining the look of sliding sash, and the result was exactly as desired.

Installation of the hole in the wall Corporate 2000 steel profiles helped with the sympathetic restoration of the building’s historic exterior, which has been further enhanced by the addition of a dramatic glazed dome roof creating two extra office floors. This was designed in contemporary glass and steel to complement the existing fenestration.

A re-design of the traditional hot rolled steel window, the Corporate 2000 retains the slender styling characteristic of steel fenestration, which enhances rather than engulfs the architectural design of any type of building. Strength and durability are assured because of the characteristics of the material, and overall, the result is stunning.

The completed Baskerville House project won the prestigious Refurbished/Recycled Workspace regional award at the British Council of Offices (BCO) awards dinner in 2007, and the Office Development of the Year award at the inaugural Midlands Property Awards, also in 2007