Commercial - Factory & Office Building - Sheerness, Kent

Built in 1974, a 92,000 square foot abandoned factory in Sheerness had been in a state of steady decline for many years. With a lack of investment, the general condition of the façades looked tired and uncared for, panels and glazing were stained and dirty, leaving the building looking almost derelict.

However in 2020, Olympic Glass, one of the UK's leading manufacturers and processors of safety glass and sealed units, acquired the factory and have subsequently spent more than £2m completely renovating and creating the iconic Queensborough building.

To refurbish the dilapidated building, Olympic Glass appointed Glaze, one of Smart Architectural Aluminium’s key partners, and a leading manufacturer and installer of premium quality, bespoke, external and internal glazing systems.

Over a period of two years, Glaze installed 430 square metres of curtain walling, completely transforming the building’s external facades through the use of the Smart Wall external framing and door systems, all finished in anthracite grey.

The external works were all completed during Covid restrictions, with just one section of façade being replaced at a time until the whole envelope was complete. When aggregated together, the external façade of the building was replaced with the new Smart Wall system in around six weeks.

Internally, the building has also been completely transformed. With the first floor now home to Olympic Glass’s manufacturing facility, the second floor of the building has been divided into offices and meeting rooms for the company using 156 square metres of Smart’s AluSpace internal screening system.

Finished in black for this project, the aluminium system features slim and elegant lines to allow light and airy internal environments to be created, while at the same time providing an effective acoustic barrier. Eight AluSpace hinged doors were installed as part of the internal screening system, all but one of which is hinged, with a sliding door installed at the entrance to a staircase.

Finally on the second floor, Glaze created a large conference room using the Smart AluSpace system, with the rest of the floor having been converted into individual offices which are available for local businesses to rent.

From effectively a blank canvas, the once near-derelict building has been created into a stunning office facility, completely transforming both the building and the area in which it stands.