42080t
17 July 2025
ASWS triumphs in Oxford Circus contract
Pictured is 214 Oxford Street where Associated Steel Window Services (ASWS) refurbished all of the windows and is now the new Ikea store in Central London.
Best known in recent decades as Topshop's flagship store, 214 Oxford Street has undergone a two-year refurbishment and restoration project that not only extends its working life as Ikea's new London headquarters, but that also fully respects the building's Grade II listing, with its unusually broad mix of window types which extend from street level bronze shopfronts to a trio of large circular steel rooflights set above a fourth floor mezzanine. It has undoubtedly been an undertaking that London basedAssociated Steel Window Services(ASWS)was able to successfully complete thanks to its long experience of working on heritage buildings, and the unrivalled array of trade skills in its armoury.
The leading member of theSteel Window Associationhad previously worked alongside the main contractor,McLaren Constructionon New Bracken House and was tasked by Avison Young, the client's representative, to conduct a full condition survey in the winter of 2022. The resulting appraisal document duly formed an important part of the contract documents, for a property whose Grade II listing and colourful history proved as big a factor in the programme as the level of water damage discovered, and the need to work around existing tenants: primarily Nike.
Owned by the Crown Estates, the new flagship store for the Swedish furniture chain is one of the four Quadrant buildings designed by Sir Henry Tanner, the Principal Surveyor of the then London Office of Works, which were built between 1913 and 1928. While the four buildings' architecture drew on classical French styling, the distinctive Portland stone cladding conceals extensive structural steelwork, as well as a century of alterations and wartime bomb damage. Unfortunately, the famous frontages also enclosed multiple lead rainwater downpipes, some of which had been leaking for many years, if not decades.
Pictured is the 214 Oxford Street where ASWS refurbished the windows
and Vans' London flagship store.
The Operations Director for ASWS, Kris Bennell, reflected: "We had originally been able to do an extensive internal survey, augmented by viewing from street level with binoculars, but this was subsequently supported by close inspection when scaffolding eventually went up in early summer 2023. Then, everything we had highlighted in the original survey as requiring further investigation, did indeed reveal serious issues. This included the tell-tale signs where glass had broken, that water has been sitting in the bottom rail. This was the case where leaks from the old lead pipes had saturated the stonework, and also where the leadwork on the very wide windowsills had been unsuccessfully asphalted over."
Façade Steel Windows
The total of 342 steel windows included many original Medium Universal as well as the early galvanised steel section windows installed after WW2 though these had offered little more protection against corrosion. As a result, some 90steel frames were removed to the ASWS workshops for shot blasting and repair. Those that were.
demounted also included the unusually shaped and very heavy ‘Lollipop' lights which run right around the building at first floor level which were refurbished to a high level. The remaining windows were all serviced and overhauled then decorated in situ.
Mansard hardwood windows
Up at level five, there were 14 very large hardwood windows, mixing side hung and fixed lights, set into a mansard structure, whose overhaul required a variety of interventions. Although some needed new timber sections spliced into the frames, ASWS also made use of its "Repaircare" treatment option in which many of its operatives are now fully trained. All of the hinges and other hardware was replaced along with any broken panes; though the unusually low positioning of the windows compared to internal floors meant all glazing under 800 mm had to be switched for safety glass.
Down at street level, the three large shop fronts facing onto Oxford Circus qualified for very different treatment, as the huge plate glass windows were upgraded to safety laminated glazing and the elegant bronze frames were painstakingly stripped back to remove their unsightly green tinted discolouration. The distinctive alloy was then re-patinated with an accurately matched chemical coating; visually a halfway house between an authentic bronze look and the original hue. The metalwork was then fully protected with a wax coating which will endure for years.
Historic Domes
While some of the manual handling challenges, such as the unusually heavy frame sections at level1 took several ASWS specialist operatives to reposition, one of the physically hardest jobs involved restoring the three shallow height domes which form a feature over the fourth-floor mezzanine. Not only were they encrusted with a century of dirt, and out of reach within a confined roof-space, but even after being deglazed there was negligible space to work. Kris Bennell continued, saying: "The roof had suffered leaks, and everything required thorough cleaning before a lot of welding work was done over a two-week period where joints had come apart or new steel sections had to be inserted to stabilise the lattice grid. There were 148 panes of glass in each of the three domes, none of which complied with modern safety standards for overhead glazing, and also the glass had been given a very variable, sand-blasted finish. It therefore all had to be replaced using safety glass, with each pane having to be individually templated by one of our carpenters - climbing in and out of what is a very tight space. The reinstatement features authentic rebate and edge details, while each of the circular domes in their 5m x 5m frames received our Five-Coat treatment."
Pictured are two of the three intricate circular domes ASWS
refurbished as part of the project.
This recently introduced redecoration regime was also specified for the steel and timber windows across 214 Oxford Street, and involves a primer plus two undercoats, followed by two top-coats - both inside and out. Though it does involve a large number of operatives - at times taking the size of the ASWS site team to around 50 - it does achieve a unique standard of protection, with the best possible chance of the paint bonding to the substrate to offer long term protection. Overall, the quality of the redecoration reflects the standard of workmanship and conscientious attention to detail which ASWS demonstrated throughout.
The Project Manager for McLaren Construction, Simon McCabe, commented: "Working on a listed building of this importance means you are not just confronted with all of the problems from the past, but also those lying in the present. With regards to the heritage aspects to the façade and the restoration of the different window types, it was the Crown Estates representative who attended site for regular monthly reviews. He was definitely very happy with the way that the work was conducted and completed. ASWS, of course, has a lot of experience in contracts of this size, and I found them grand to work with. We had no issues whatsoever with the standard of work carried out: their staff are knowledgeable, detailed and they know what they are doing. Whatever the problem, they would come back with workable solutions; they face the various challenges head on, and we could just let them get on with it."
ASWS offers a full range of survey, repair, replica replacement and maintenance services for all ages and types of metal and timber windows. For more information on ASWS, please visit asws.co.uk.
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Note to editor
ASWS is a long-established member of the Steel Window Association and well-recognised expert in the repair of metal windows, from the earliest wrought iron examples through to contemporary curtain walling. ASWS also undertakes full restoration works to all timber windows and doors, architectural metalwork, specialist glazing, bronze windows and shopfronts. As well as in-situ servicing and restoration, the company frequently removes frames back to its London workshops for repair, or to produce replica replacements. Further services include carrying out full condition surveys, retrofitting thermal glazing upgrades and enablement works for demolition and other contractors, where fenestration can be documented and removed to secure storage for the duration of a project. ASWS recently won Refurbishment Project of the Year at the 2025 Steel Window Association Awards.
With compliments:
Taylor Alden Ltd