Internal site accommodation at the complex Fenwick Department Store redevelopment

Redevelopment of Grade II listed building adopts innovative engineering

Behind the historic façade of the Fenwick department store on New Bond Street, one of Mayfair’s most significant redevelopments is taking shape. Designed by Foster + Partners, the scheme is transforming the prominent Grade II listed building into a landmark mixed-use destination. The ambitious plans will ensure the historic façade is carefully retained and raised while an entirely new structure is built behind it, preserving the building’s heritage while creating a contemporary home for retail and business.

The 130-year-old department store grew organically across six separate buildings, resulting in 37 mismatched floor levels. To resolve this, innovative engineering is being used to “jack up” entire floor slabs and historic façades, align the floor plates, create higher, more accessible ceiling heights, and enable the construction team to build four new stepped floors. Approximately 75% of the historic exterior façades are being meticulously preserved and lifted as part of the works.

Main contractor Faithdean plc, working alongside demolition contractor ARIF, is stripping the existing building back to its core before reconstruction begins. A project of this scale and technical complexity demands a large on-site workforce over an extended programme, making high-quality site rooms and welfare facilities essential to keeping the project running smoothly. Westgate Global was appointed to provide internal site accommodation across three floors of the development.

Image courtesy of Lazari Investments

The importance of site rooms and welfare spaces

Space is at a premium on any Central London site, and New Bond Street is no exception. Space constraints meant that external welfare cabins could only be used during the early stages of the programme. As the works progressed, the external cabins had to be moved to make way for construction vehicles, cranes and materials. With operatives, engineers and site staff needing to be accommodated throughout the jacking and reconstruction phases, Faithdean needed welfare and office accommodation relocated within the building, without compromising fire compliance or slowing site operations. Crucially, the solution needed to last up to two years, be robust enough to be moved as requirements changed, and provide a smart, professional finish throughout.

Fire-compliant, professional site rooms

Westgate Global supplied Hoardfast Firescreen 60 minutes to form the external walls of the site rooms, delivering the required fire performance while creating robust, professional looking office and welfare accommodation. The internal walls of the rooms were constructed using Hoardfast PVC, a durable, cost-effective solution. Installed floor-to-ceiling across three floors of the development, the systems create permanent-feeling accommodation while remaining fully demountable. Unlike traditional timber hoarding, the steel-faced Firescreen panels and PVC hoarding resist damage over long project durations, are easy to clean, and maintain a professional appearance throughout extended use.

A flexible solution

With the works spread across multiple floors, keeping welfare facilities close to active work areas was also essential to minimise unnecessary movement around the site. Westgate Global created Hoardfast toilet cubicles on the first and second floors, giving operatives convenient access to facilities close to their work areas and reducing time lost travelling around the site.

The panels are engineered for flexibility, so that when access changes, scopes shift, or the project moves to the next phase, the hoarding can be dismantled, relocated and reinstalled in new areas. This flexibility allowed Faithdean to reuse the same hoarding system throughout the project. With sustainability high on the project’s agenda, the ability to reuse the same panels throughout the programme offered a significant advantage.

Westgate Global worked as part of the project team, providing end-to-end stewardship from survey and drawings through to installation and aftercare. It’s this approach that sees contractors like Faithdean trust Westgate Global to deliver on high-stakes, time-critical sites. The result is internal site accommodation that is fire-compliant, professional in appearance, and flexible enough to evolve alongside one of Mayfair’s most technically ambitious redevelopments.

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