At the £500 million redevelopment of King’s Cross Station in London, Lonsdale Metal Company’s PlasGard patent glazing bars were installed for the creation of a stunning 15,000m2 glazed roof system – part of one of the UK’s most complex building-integrated rooflight and solar PV installations.
Designed by John McAslan + Partners and delivered by Kier Construction, the station regeneration included the replacement of two large Grade I listed barrel vaulted glazed rooflight structures. Spanning a number of platforms and running the entire length of the 240 metre long main train shed, the roof system had to be removed, replaced and upgraded whilst the station remained fully operational and without a single train cancellation.
Kier turned to Lonsdale Metal Company and SunDog Energy for a new 15,000m2 roof glazing system incorporating 2,500m2 of photovoltaic glass. With Lonsdale’s PlasGard glazing bars integral to the roof’s performance, Lonsdale designed new low profile glazing bars to eliminate shadows on the PV panels and with a wide rebate to provide bomb blast mitigation.
A simple two part glazing bar with continuous screw on cap, PlasGard is suitable for single glazing with glass thicknesses between 6mm and 25mm. Easy to install, PlasGard offers excellent value and a wider than normal glazing rebate providing improved glass retention for exposed locations or where bomb blast mitigation is required.
To deliver the architect’s stunning aesthetic, registered Lonsdale dealer ESB Services Ltd., carried out the installation. The glazing system had to be carefully designed to conceal some 10km of cables used to connect 1,392 photovoltaic modules to the inverters. Using a slimline glass laminate PV array designed and installed by Sundog Energy, ESB integrated the aluminium PlasGard glazing bar system from Lonsdale to neatly conceal the extensive cable system.
150 access hatches and an internal retractable frame were also installed to allow safe access during the repair or replacement of the building’s internal lighting system. Due to the extremely tight site, ESB meticulously managed site logistics with each element of the installation delivered to the roof as and when required.
With a combination of 15,000m2 of roof glazing, 2,500m2 of photovoltaic glass and Lonsdale’s PlasGard patent glazing bars, the project team successfully delivered the high quality installation of a stunning barrel vaulted rooflight structure to provide the perfect finish at the £500 million King’s Cross Station regeneration.
