Howells supplies glazing for regeneration scheme

Rutland Mills has been derelict for 20 years. During this time, the nine Grade II Listed buildings have become dilapidated and in a poor state of repair. Investor City & Provincial Properties selected the site for redevelopment and to establish Tileyard North.

Adjacent to The Hepworth Museum on Wakefield’s waterfront, the redevelopment is part of a regeneration plan for 10 acres of the historic riverside. Tileyard North will transform into a mixed-use, inclusive, creative and cultural hub with a significant new public realm leading through the site to the River Calder and riverside pier.

The challenge was to regenerate the complex of derelict listed buildings and secure the future of the historic structures through refurbishment, re-use and re-purpose.

Sewell Construction was appointed via competitive tender to upgrade the structural stability of the buildings and appointed Howells Patent Glazing to design, supply and install a series of new patent glazed rooflights on three of the nine buildings.

“The main reason we selected Howells comes down to our existing relationship with the firm – they are a key player in our supply chain,” said Jon Webster, project manager from Sewell Construction.

“Howells were forthcoming throughout the project and provided a lot of guidance on product choice. They had a lot of involvement with the design team to ensure best practice and most importantly, staying true to the heritage of the building. We were in regular communication with the conservationists, and whenever problems arose regarding this, Howells were supportive and made suggestions.”

One solution was to propose the repositioning of the roofline for the works to be accepted by the conservation team.

“In a lot of cases, a patent glazing system must be above the level of the adjacent roof to facilitate drainage,” explains Dave Bennett, senior contracts manager for Howells. “This means it is sometimes out of plane with the roof, or rather, in plane but at a raised level which can detract from any intended clean lines.

“To avoid this at Tileyard North and to meet the conservation requirements, we sank the drained glazing system within the external lines of the adjacent roofing, with some clever adaptation of the structure, particularly at the base.”

The patent glazing system utilised Howells’ narrow heritage HG2 glazing bars, powder coated in RAL 7012 Basalt grey in matt, with double glazed sealed units comprising an outer leaf of 6mm toughened Cool-Lite SKN 176 solar control glass and an inner leaf of 6mm toughened low-emissivity glass. Every pane incorporates an electrically operated top hung ventilator with associated control panel.

“Howells provided an extremely good service throughout the project, offering a good, efficient product,” continues Jon. “The team dealt with the challenges quickly and efficiently and the aftercare has been great too. The whole team are a pleasure to work with.”