The Brunswick cleans up

Pilkington was certainly expecting a wide range of technically diverse and possibly outlandish designs to compete for its recently held Activ in Architecture competition, devised in association with architectural magazine RIBA Journal (now a sister journal of Glass Age). What the company did not expect was that its winning entry would turn out to be a housing and commercial complex built in London at the height of the 1960s concrete revolution that is revered as an icon of sixties planning, design and construction. The Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury is the perfect example of how the use of self-cleaning glass can make an enormous difference.

Activ in Architecture was set up to find ‘the most suitable projects for the world's most innovative glass’, and was developed specifically for architects. Entrants were encouraged to use their architectural vision and show how the versatility and practicality of self-cleaning glass could benefit their latest project. Architects were invited to contribute suggestions regardless of size, the only provision being that a maximum of 7500m2 of glazing could be utilised. The winning entry was to receive a free of charge installation of Pilkington Activ self-cleaning glass worth many thousands of pounds.

A clear winner

The Grade-II listed Brunswick Centre was judged the clear winner of the competition due to its extremely unusual design and the sheer complexity of its glazing considerations. Located between Kings Cross and Russell Square, the Centre is one of London’s most recognisable and iconic buildings from the 1960s. Originally conceived by architect Patrick Hodgkinson – who went on to become Professor of Architecture at Bath University – it provides low-rise, high-density housing, shops, offices/studios, a cinema and car parking within an extraordinary concrete and glass megastructure that includes 314 individual, stepped winter gardens. Quite simply, there is no other building that is its equal, a fact that is recognised by conservation specialists the Twentieth Century Society, which highlights the building on its website (www.c20society.org.uk).

Project underway

For renowned architectural firm Levitt Bernstein Associates of London, the timing of the contest simply could not have been better.

Peter Sanders, Project Director for the Brunswick Centre, explains: ‘We were already working on several aspects of the regeneration of The Brunswick Centre when the competition came to our attention. A project was already underway to upgrade the Centre with a new supermarket complex – something we were undertaking on behalf of Allied London Properties – and we had recently been asked separately by Camden Council to look at replacing the old patent glazing on the sloping roofs of the winter gardens.

‘We were already considering using Pilkington Activ for the roofs as the best solution to a number of problems. As the Centre is a Grade II listed building, there are many design aspects that we have to maintain, including keeping the original glazing design. However, whilst the ‘official’ cleaning access to the winter garden glazing is via rolling gantries, they don’t work very well. Consequently, cleaning is done via the integral gutters that stick out underneath the gardens.’

There were also other considerations that Pilkington believed it could answer, says Peter: ‘The residents of the Centre – many of which are elderly and have lived there since it was originally built – were also having problems with excessive heat gain and loss in the winter gardens during different seasons. We also needed to find a patent glass that could provide greater privacy and that would be shatter-proof in case of an accident. We had pretty much decided that Pilkington low emissivity safety glass with a solar filter layer would be the best possible solution, using Pilkington Activ as a self-cleaning outer layer, when the competition was announced. We couldn’t think of a building that was a more perfect match for the competition criteria than our project.’

Judging process

The competition judges – including structural engineer and glass specialist Tim MacFarlane, Pilkington Chief Executive Stuart Chambers and RIBA Journal’s Eleanor Young – agreed, and the Brunswick Centre will now receive its Pilkington Activ upgrade at no extra cost. The revolutionary self-cleaning glass will simply work with natural rain and sun to break down organic dirt and keep the glazed areas clean, allowing the original design of the building to be clearly seen and appreciated.

For Levitt Bernstein, it is a particularly sweet victory as the history of The Brunswick Centre is closely intertwined with its own: David Levitt and David Bernstein were employed as associates by Patrick Hodgkinson as part of the original 1964 design process, and the complement is now being returned as Mr Hodgkinson is working with the firm once again as a consultant for the new designs.

Runners up

A small domestic London residential project was also chosen as a secondary winner of the competition. Kiran Curtis Architects was asked by planners to create a distinct, different design solution for an infill site in a street of Victorian terraced houses in North London. The company decided upon an insulated glass façade with a moulded leaf pattern. The project will now also benefit from a Pilkington Activ installation.

Other short-listed projects included the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery in Margate (architects: Spence Associates), the Environment Centre for Wales in Bangor (architects: The Fairhurst Design Group) and the Centre Piece Church in Ashford, Kent (architects: The Roy Stone Design Partnership).