LONDON
Premier Inn Billingsgate
St Mary-at-Hill church has served the parish of Billingsgate for nearly a thousand years, and the site is mentioned in legal documentation that dates back to 1177.
The unusual name of the church comes from the topography at the time, whereby you had to proceed up a steep hill from the quay on the Thames. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt, and now sits amongst the narrow streets where the Premier Inn St Mary at Hill was constructed.
The 184-bedroom Premier Inn is situated just down from and opposite this famous church. A site constricted by historic buildings, narrow streets and restricted access, certainly created a challenge for this scheme which utilised a variation of façade systems.
The scheme comprises predominately of lightweight steel frame sections with a two tone Aquarian Gebrik Brick Cladding. The Gebrik cladding is non-load bearing and produced in one metre square panels for ease of application, which made the construction of a traditional-looking brick façade much easier given the site difficulties. Areas of dark glass rainscreen cladding were installed to first, second and top floor levels, with a standing seam aluminium cladding to the top floor as well.
Projects
Premier Inn
20 St Mary at Hill
Billingsgate
London
Use
Hotel Accommodation
Value
Client
Whitebread PLC
Systems
Lightweight steel section with Aquarian Gebrik Cladding, glass and aluminium rainscreen and Rockpanel façade cladding.
Fitting the large and very heavy glass rainscreen panels to the top of the hotel was challenge in itself, given the extremely high winds experienced on the day of installation. Extra care and supervision were required with the restricted access to ensure that the panels could be located in the right place without risking damage to the panels or any operatives.
The Premier Inn St Mary at Hill is by no means the largest project undertaken by FCS Facades Limited; however, the overall difficulty of the site and access restrictions made this scheme a far more complex delivery than would have normally been expected for a project of this size. It was therefore no surprise that The Premier Inn, St Mary at Hill won a Bronze Considerate Construction Award at the National Site Awards.
