Universal Square Manchester Project

Tags: VEKA, Commercial, New M70, Installers | Added: 21 March 2018

As part of a large scale renovation programme, The Glazerite UK Group Limited and its Stockport-based customer, Arctic Seal MCR Ltd, have supplied and installed 1000 windows for a state-of-the-art 260,000 square foot business community.

Universal Square is a unique office campus based on the Picadilly fringe of Manchester City Centre, offering a professional service to more than 50 companies. As part of the demanding refurbishment project, five new interlinked buildings and all congregated around an impressive courtyard, with 24-hour security, car parking facilities, a restaurant, fitness centre and more.

The old building has been completely transformed and, as well as external cladding to the complete building, 1000 VEKA M70 windows were supplied to Arctic Seal for installation. The new structurally coupled windows are finished in Anthracite to replicate aluminium in alignment with the modern, 21st century look and feel of the building. All ground floor windows are Secured By Design accredited and all glazing is grey tinted.

Arctic Seals Director Shahzad Ashraf commented:

"Having visited the Glazerite UK Group stand at the 2017 FIT Show, we were very impressed with the quality of their windows, and in addition to that their windows met our requirements in terms of what size frame they could supply. Since then we have worked with them on the Universal Square project, as well as two office-to-flat conversions in both Derby and Cannock, totally around 1000 windows.

Each of these were standard frames bit with different levels of glass spec due to soundproofing and depending on elevation. All projects have run to schedule thanks to great communication from Glazerite and all deliveries arriving as planned."

Glazerite's Sales Manager, Pete Smith said:

"This project is one of three across the country that we have worked on together with Arctic Seal within the last year after meeting at last year's FIT Show. The 2017 show as a platform for Glazerite to showcase further new projects and support services, and we are pleased this has led to working with Arctic Seal on such projects.

Now almost complete, the Universal Square project no longer bears any resembelance at all to the buidling that was historically built to house Great Universal Stores. Arctic Seal have achieved a fantastic result with an inviting and modern space for businesses of all sectors

Recent Case Studies

Transformation of Burlington House

Oldham-based D&M Windows & Doors Ltd has recently completed the transformation of a Liverpool office building using windows fabricated by The Glazerite UK Group Ltd. VEKA Installer, D&M Windows completed the 7,786 sp ft Burlington House development in Crosby in October 2018. In their first job for Amspec Ltd, D&M Windows installed over 500 VEKA M70 windows in Anthracite Grey, with a white interior. The project took just under five months to complete. Run by father and son team, Mark and Darren Hoolickin, D&M Windows prides itself on providing excellent customer service. Mark says: "The install was a big job but we were able to achieve a high quality install thanks to the supply and fabrication of the excellent M70 product from VEKA and Glazerite" "The final result looks stunning and the Anthracite Grey really gives the building a distinctive edge. We're pleased to have been able to play a part in this project and work once again with the team at D&M Windows." - Peter Smith, Area Sales Manager - Glazerite UK Group

70's office block transformation by D&M Windows

Offices housing employees of the industrial manufacturer, Siemens, have undergone a huge facelift thanks to the Glazerite UK Group Ltd and their customer, D&M Windows Ltd. Oldham's D&M Windows was chosen by contractors Brown & Bancroft to carry out the transformation of the four storey building in Congleton, Cheshire, because of their extensive experience in commercial and domestic installations. Glazerite fabricated and supplied over 200 VEKA M70 windows in white for the install, which took three months to complete. Mark Hoolickin, who runs D&M Windows with his son, Darren, says: "As a family-run business we always want to ensure that every customer receives the very best. Thanks to VEKA and Glazerite, we were able to achieve everything Siemens wanted, and we've since been contacted by them to install new windows on their manufacturing units." "We've worked with D&M Windows for a number of years, supplying windows and doors for bespoke domestic projects through to large commercial installs like this one. Their work is always of the highest quality and we're delighted to have been able to work with them on this prestigious project." - Peter Smith, Area Sales Manager North West - Glazerite UK Group

Adeva Windsor House Project

Kent based Adeva Home Improvements has built on its recent success in large scale commercial window installation with a triple glazing retrofit for a sheltered housing scheme in Whitstable. Once again, the group praised The Glazerite UK Group Ltd and VEKA for their support in specifying and completing the contract, for 279 casement windows in the VEKA 70mm fully sculptured system finished in white, at the 12-storey Windsor House. As with the previous installation, VEKA supplied the wind load calculations essential for installations at such hight, with other technical support by Glazerite, without which Director Geoff Dwyer said the company would not have had the confidence to tender for the work. "They were with us all the way when we had the chance of our first large scale commercial contract. That gave us the confidence to continue our activity in the sector and the result was another success for us with Windsor House. The technical support from Glazerite and VEKA was brilliant, the clients are very pleased with the result and we are already looking at several more prospects." Elderly residents at Windsor House were finding the first generation double glazed PVC-U had become draughty as well as making the flats costly to hear in cold weather. Adeva replaced them with far more energy-efficient A+Rated, triple glazed VEKA 70FS units, for main contractor Hamilton Building Contractors. Jason Thompson, Director of The Glazerite UK Group, said the installation was another model example of what installers of any size can achieve with the right materials and the right technical support: "Most good installers are perfectly capable of carrying out such medium and even large scale commercial contracts but may be put off by the technical back-up and specification advice. But all Glazerite installer partners know that all you need is a good, supportive fabricator and system supplier and they can achieve virtually anything."