One of the most interesting aspects of the project is undoubtedly the curtain wall that characterizes the main building. It's a unitised system with structural glazing, where special EPDM gaskets are interlocked between sequentially mounted units. These gaskets ensure a perfect seal both vertically and horizontally and allow for proper drainage.

The accuracy of the construction is remarkable: each unit is fixed by using a bracket system that permits small three-dimensional adjustments, ensuring a visually impeccable result.

The spandrel units, which define the façade, incorporate active systems such as opening vents, rainwater downpipes, plenums, and ventilation louvers concealed behind perforated sheet metal panels. The framing members consist of extruded aluminium EN AW-6063 T6 mullions and transoms, carefully assembled with screws and silicone. The latest generation double-glazing unit consists of two laminated glass panes with a 90% argon-filled cavity, thus ensuring excellent thermal and acoustic performance.

The units consist of aluminium frames to which the DGU is applied using structural silicone bonding, for both vision glass and glazed spandrel. Vulcanized gaskets are applied to the perimeter of each unit to form the primary seal barrier. On the outer side of the transoms, horizontal fins are installed at the stack joint, providing continuity to the projecting elements of the spandrel units.
A distinctive element of the project are the spandrel units, characterized by the presence of vertical extruded aluminium fins, arranged at 150mm spacing between them and connected to the horizontal fins. These elements primarily contribute to the overall aesthetics but also allow for natural ventilation through them by using opening vents incorporated into the spandrel units. Special double-glazing units and high-density wool panels, enclosed by aluminium and steel sheets, are used to ensure durability and resistance.

Attention to functionality is also evident: the spandrel units conceal a cascaded downpipe system collecting and driving out the rainwater from the terraces. This is achieved through an integrated technical solution without aesthetic compromises.

The same applies to the active ventilation systems, which are connected to the back of the units and exchange air with the outside through bespoke plenums and louvers designed to be integrated into the spandrel units.

From the founders’ earliest collaboration at university to now, more than 30 years later, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris has been based on a firm commitment to the design of buildings of economy, elegance and delight: buildings that reflect a continuing belief in the ability of outstanding architecture to last through time; buildings whose success is defined not just by the use for which they were commissioned, but by their ability to adapt to different uses; buildings that aim to make a positive and lasting contribution to the city around them; buildings that form the backdrop to the city and the theatre of everyday life, but that can be, in themselves, extraordinary.

The principal focus of the practice, therefore, has been the design of everyday buildings in the city. It is their belief that such buildings can, through intelligent design and a professional methodology, be made extraordinary.

More than 30 years on the field have strengthened their fundamental principles:

• the work should be driven by a strategic approach to design which recognises that changes in circumstance and context, both during the design and during the life of the building, are inevitable
• the work should address and enhance its relationship with both the public it serves and the public spaces that surround it, not least by bringing visual delight
• the work should do more with less; set the best standards of design, regardless of cost or programme; and be open-minded, generous of spirit and ever optimistic
• the focus is architecture – and the endless testing of the boundaries of its application.