The 20-storey buildings are clad with unitized panels in combination with precast panels, for a total of nr 3700 curtain wall units. This unitized system consists of aluminum and glass secured with external deep bead profiles, thus creating a continuous frame all around the precast. The units are trapezoidal in shape to fit the openings left in between the precast panels. To the vision panels we have adopted a triple glazed unit, TGU, with Low-E double coating, to achieve the Ug of 0.5 W/m2k. At slab level, spandrel units with metal panel are installed, incorporating an active louvre system for the ventilation of the apartments.
The units include trapezoidal openable vents, top hung and side hung, with restricted outward opening for safety. The crucial detail is the interface between the unit and the precast panel; a bespoke façade system has been designed to allow for the installation of the façade from the inside of the building.
The Broadway is a 1 million sqft mixed-use development which establishes a new Westminster destination comprising residential, workspace and retail uses with generous new public realm. The design of The Broadway is rooted in place from the urban scale down to the final details of the development, with Squire & Partners providing total design encompassing the masterplan, architecture and interiors to achieve a unified scheme which creates a unique sense of place. The site previously housed the Metropolitan Police Headquarters – a defensive 1960s block which occupied the entire footprint, creating a wall along Victoria Street. The site lacked any urban design or contribution to the public realm, and its existing use was inappropriate for retrofit as the building was purpose-built. With this in mind, the concept behind The Broadway was to divide the site into two podiums with three buildings ranging from 14 to 19 storeys on each, thereby creating a campus feel with a new connection through the site linking Victoria Street with Broadway and Dacre Street, whilst framing views of the Grade I-listed 55 Broadway.
Proposals sought to create a cohesive design across the six buildings, whilst respecting the context of both the commercial buildings on Victoria Street to the south, and the historic sandstone mansion blocks of the Conservation Area to the north. The three palettes of light, medium and dark bronze metal are carried through respectively to apartment interiors, with kitchen islands and shelving finished in the same material to unify the design. The development provides 268 apartments, three floors of office accommodation and an animated ground floor with retail and restaurant uses. Entrances to the workspace levels are located along Orchard Place, further activating the new central street. The highly unusual and complex mix of uses at this scale in a central urban location required careful planning. The six buildings had different design parameters and needed to work cohesively without compromising the different components. Uses are stacked on top of each other on a grid to connect the buildings, with a basement that spans the whole footprint across three levels and interconnecting podiums on the fourth floor – providing shared external landscaped space for residents.