GLOBAL
(RE)INSURANCE
FIRM

Sector
Commercial

Architect
HLW

Contractor
Parkeray

Location
City of London

Contact the team: info@radiipartitioning.com +44 (0) 2079 524830

Partitioning that Radii installed years earlier, dismantled, reconfigured and put back into service.

THE PROJECT.

Radii was appointed as part of the fit-out team for the London offices of a global (re)insurance firm. Working alongside architect HLW and contractor Parkeray, the project formed part of a wider workplace transformation with circular economy principles set at the centre of the design process.

The objective was to refresh the workplace while retaining as much of the existing partitioning, glazing and joinery as the new layout allowed. Rather than a conventional strip-out and replace, the project team looked for opportunities to retain, refurbish and repurpose what was already installed.

Much of the finished scheme was built from components that were already in the building.

THE PROJECT.

THE PROJECT.

REUSE

The Parallel 50 glazed fronts on Level 3 were Radii's own, installed for the same client several years earlier.

Rather than strip them out, Radii dismantled the fronts, reconfigured them and reinstalled them to suit the new office layout. Because the system remains in current production, matching new stock was available for the sections the revised layout required.

Reinstating existing partitioning depends on survey work done before strip-out. Having installed the original scheme, Radii held the specification and could plan the reinstallation around what could be retained, so the reconfigured fronts matched the performance and finish of the rest of the floor.

Reusing these fronts meant no replacement partitioning had to be manufactured or delivered for this area.

REPURPOSE

Radii also looked at the architectural elements around the partitioning.

The existing technical panels were refurbished rather than replaced. The original aluminium framework was retained and fitted with new veneered panel finishes, updating the appearance while keeping the underlying components in service.

The retained partition structures were also able to carry new doors. Existing glazed doors were replaced with oak veneer timber doors, giving the floor a warmer interior without disturbing the partitioning that supports them.

Munich Re Linear 30

Munich Re L30 with Veneered Timber Door and Pilaster

Munich Re P50 with Veneered Timber Door and VISA Tech Unit (3)

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (63)

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (153)

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (177)

NEW WHERE NEEDED

Materials that could not be reused were segregated by the project team for recovery.

On Level 2, Radii installed new partitioning where the layout required it: single-glazed Linear 30 at Rw 41 dB, and double-glazed Parallel 50 at Rw 45 dB, along with the associated doors, pilasters and technical panels.

The new partitioning was specified to sit alongside the retained elements rather than replace the look of them. Finishes, glazing and door details were matched across both, so the floors read as a single scheme rather than as old and new work side by side.

Across the retained and new elements, the floor has 126 offices and meeting rooms.

An Ongoing Partnership.

The completed project shows how reuse and refurbishment can extend the working life of partitioning, glazing and joinery already installed in a building.

The client returned for a second phase; work on Level 5 followed the same approach: glazed Hogan doors, Parallel 50 partitions and veneered timber technical panels were restacked and reused, with new Linear 30 partitions introduced where the layout required them.

Reuse of this kind is only straightforward when the original system is known, documented and still in production. Specifying a demountable partitioning system is a decision that pays back at the next fit-out, not the current one.

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (33)

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (90)

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (114)

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (105)

Munich Re Radii 2024 (Mid Res) (97)

Contact our Pre-Construction Design Department today for any technical support you require for your commercial fit-out project.

Tel: 020 7952 4830

Email: pre-con.design@radiipartitioning.com

Or get in touch via our website contact form.