Structura

Feliz Navidad! What says Christmas better than Mexican food, Mock-tails and a Mariachi band (The Mexican Way)?! The entire Structura workforce gathered together at our head office for our end of year review presentation from our Directors. This is always a time for us to reflect on the success we have achieved and to look at our plans for the coming year. The directors also select a few team members for specific recognition for all they have contributed over the year, so it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t add them to this post. Congratulations to Ben Gallagher, Matt Taylor, Sukhvir Gill and Sam Mason. Once the formalities were finished, there was quite the surprise for everyone waiting in the entrance. To say it was unexpected and very well received was an understatement! Thanks not only to our fantastic team for their continued dedication and hardwork throughout 2024, but to all our clients and partners. We hope everyone finds time to enjoy the festive season, and look forward to working together in 2025. We wanna wish you a Merry Christmas…. #christmas #team #celebrate #architecturalglazing #structura

Repost from the Archives: Building Investigations This video shows a project which in real time, we completed at the beginning of 2024. Structura were enlisted to support the client in conducting a full review the entire façade of this large central London property. The footage captures one step of the process of revealing what hidden truths there are beneath the exterior, in this case, the feature shroud pressing on the 6th floor balcony. The plan was for all copings to be removed so the team could assess and plan the best course of action to reinforce the concrete beneath. During this process however, several alarming anomalies were discovered including missing and/ or incorrectly fitted insulation; wood screws used to fit spandrel panels where steel is required, and in some places, an indeterminable adhesive had used for installation instead of a mechanical fixing. All information was tracked and reviewed to formulate the full contract of works required to bring the building up to safety standards. #constructionsafety #ukconstruction #buildingenvelope #retrofit #structura #façade

Our contract at Grade II* listed Mountbatten House is complete after a year on site and even longer in the planning. We undertook our works package for CField Construction at the building, which is considered one of the most important modernist architectural properties in the UK, originally designed by Peter Foggo (Arup).   A key priority of this listed building refurbishment was to repurpose the original materials wherever possible throughout the upgrade. There were multiple failed glazing units to replace (more than 1,100) but with the agreement of English Heritage and Historic England, we replaced the original gaskets, EPDM, glazing shelves, as well as manually adding drainage to the transoms and mullions to improve the performance of the property. This site, previously known as ‘The Hanging Gardens of Basingstoke’, due to the beautiful landscaping across multiple terraces, is the definition of a sustainable-focused retrofit project. We worked alongside May Glass Recycling Ltd who collected the extracted glass and transported it to their facility, where a massive 45 tonnes was safely broken down to cullet, ready to be recycled. The cullet travelled on the Guardian Glass Europe plant to be melted down and reused in new glass production, helping to close the loop on the construction glazing cycle. Guardian Glass also provided the SunGuard HP Bronze 40/27 glass, a unique solution that provides solar protection and thermal insulation to enhance not only building aesthetics, but also energy efficiency.   In addition to safely extracting and replacing all glazing, we also crafted new Aluprof terrace doors, rooflights and created a new main entrance, complete with circular door. The newly named PLANT building now stands proudly in Basingstoke as an example of how a multimillion-pound property can be responsibly upgraded and is a testament to specialist contractors combining expertise to deliver more sustainable construction in the UK. Structura are incredibly proud to have been part of this process and further enhancing our knowledge of landmark heritage properties.   #sustainableconstruction #ukconstruction #glazing #recycling #listedbuilding #aluminium #structura #architecturalglazing #retrofitfirst #retrofit #closetheloop

Fabricating supply-only double Schüco UK Limited doors set in a 3m screen isn’t a quick task, and it requires a fair amount of bench space as the framework will be delivered to site fully assembled to ensure the simplest of installations. Sarah completes the set of Schüco International KG doors first (off camera) before moving on to the framework. This design requires a notch to be removed from some of the profiles to enable the perfect fit, so she begins with this at the notching saw, and then moves on to the dual cutting saw. Base transoms are added to the door frames on both sides, requiring plenty of pins and accuracy checks of fixed dimensions. Every millimetre counts. Sarah then moves on to the mid transoms, before prepping the exterior mullions. Corner cleats are added and adhesive piped before the moment of truth - slotting all three sections of interior framework into the 3m exterior mullion. Once pinned in place, she repeats on the opposite side of the framework. Then all that remains to be done is a clean-up of excessive adhesive, and after some drying time, the final fixtures (gaskets and beading) can be fitted. #ukfabrication #structura #schuco #factory #aluminium #windowsanddoors

We posted a video last year of our team installing curved Kalwall Corporation panels and are delighted to share the beautiful, completed images of the contract.    This residential property was designed by The Manser Practice Architects + Designers in the 1960s and has been re-visited by said original architects many years later to support with the upgrade and modernisation of this bespoke structure. Moving the staircase from the centre of the house has increased the living room space and created an opportunity to use Kalwall to enclose the newly situated curved staircase at the end of the building.,    Positioned on stilts on a 50-degree incline in the Surrey Hills, the home lives up to its name: Cliffhanger. The installation team navigated the challenging site with a lot of careful footing and communication to ensure safe construction at all times. They successfully installed the bespoke curved Kalwall system to house the spiral staircase, providing natural light in abundance to flow through the rest of the house, while providing privacy for the occupants within.    Structura were proud to support the renovation of this architectural gem. Photography: Jim Stephenson   #retrofit #kalwall #manser #architecturaldesign #ukconstruction #façade #naturallight

A small site with many hands on deck... this video overviews the installation of an oriel window box at a recent residential retrofit project in Esher, Surrey. The team took the opportunity to upskill some of our installers with this bespoke window, hence why there are a few more bodies than usual for this scale of contract. The glass boy and vacuum lifter were essential equipment here to safely and accurately install the double-glazing unit. Although the timelapse shows the job in a concise format, the live reality of the installation was inching the glass in very gradually, millimetres at a time, due to the restricted space of the inside-out nature of the task. #bespoke #installation #ukconstruction #structura #window #retrofit

Repost from the Archives: Complete Project Cycle; from design to installation Muhammad Choudahary from our inhouse #designteam shows us some of the stages of the project lifecycle, from concept to completion, on a local project we undertook. Starting with the architect’s drawings, which are then detailed out into 2D General Arrangement Drawings for approval. These are brought to life in 3D before being etched out into workshop drawings and passed on to our fabrication team downstairs to start manufacturing from. And voila, the beautiful pyramid rooflight comes to life once the installation team have worked their magic! #CAD #designprocess #structuralglazing #architecturalglazing

Is it just us, or do these young people look like a very professional bunch? Structura are delighted to sponsor the Walton and Hersham United U11 team for the 2025 season in the Surrey Youth League. We wish all players a happy season, (we’re told they’ve stepped up to the challenge of their first season as a 9 aside team) Go Vikings! #community #youthteam #surreysports

Building Magazine has released some beautiful images of the completed works at Frederick's Place, London, and we wanted to share few of our own too.   Structura were proud to design, fabricate and install the Schüco International KG shop-front screens, fully wrapped curtain walling system, punch hole windows, pass through doors and acoustic louvres along all 4 elevations of the newly reconstructed property. Working in collaboration with Knight Harwood. This sizable contract also included sourcing and installation of a large, bespoke curved screen glass panel along a public pass way, with the help of Glassbel Group to meet our clients’ criteria. Photography: Alex Upton   #completedworks #façade #architcecturalglazing #ukfabrication #bespokedesign #aluminium #glazing

Repost from the archives: Reduce, reuse, recycle. Blink and you’ll miss the slight imperfection on this Schüco International KG ASE 60 door system (dye on the aluminium frame) which meant it failed quality control for our client’s needs, but it’s still fit for purpose. So, it’s been saved from the recycling and repurposed to create the perfect adaptable space in our living showroom (aka office). #reducereuserecycle #officespace #creatingspace #structurauk #glazing #Schuco #aluminium