IDF Aluminium has installed doors and internal screenwork at the new headquarters of iconic sportswear brand Fred Perry in Clerkenwell, London.
The work includes use of transom door closers, pole handles and door handles from Alpro as part of the renovation of nineteenth-century warehouse buildings into a complex of offices, showrooms, exhibition space and a rooftop deck over 24,000 square feet.
The project extends across seven floors and the client gave all contractors a brief that the site should benefit from robust security but preserve a welcoming atmosphere and an aesthetic that respected the fabric of the original Victorian warehouses.
Alpro’s overhead transom closers provide a means of hydraulically controlling the opening and closing of aluminium doors and can have light, medium or heavy spring strengths to suit type of usage, with a 90-degree hold-open option. Transom closers are well suited for use at industrial heritage buildings such as the Fred Perry premises since the alternative options of spring hinges and floor springs often present problems with adjustment flexibility.
The IDF installation also includes Alpro’s Functional 98 Series pull door handles on internal doors. These are manufactured from 316-grade stainless steel and can be straight or offset. The handles are supplied with bolt-thru or back-to-back fixings as standard and powder or nylon-coated finishes to the user’s precise colour requirements. In this case a powder finish was chosen to match the framework.
The Fred Perry base is located on the corner of Mount Pleasant Street and Warner Street opposite the former Mount Pleasant sorting office. The many considerations for architects BuckleyGrayYeoman included preserving an iconic façade and working round plaques commemorating damage suffered by the building during World-War-II bombing. The interior fit-out including m & e systems was by Overbury and the base build contractor was Willmott Dixon. The new space was prepared to a demanding four-month deadline.
IDF Aluminium specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of aluminium doors. The door solutions are designed for use in commercial and public-sector environments where usage may be high but maintenance costs must be minimised.
The company has 30 years’ experience in the shop front and commercial door market. IDF Aluminium ensures a quality service by designing and fabricating all its doors and shop fronts in-house with no use of sub-contractors. The client portfolio covers transport, local government, healthcare and education from schools through to universities. This is IDF’s second heritage architecture project using Alpro equipment and follows works at Henry Wood House, a former BBC property in Marylebone.