Smart Architectural Aluminium, the UK’s leading supplier of aluminium systems, has delivered a wide range of new‑build and refurbishment projects across both the public and private sectors. With extensive experience in education, the company has supplied systems for a wide range of schools, colleges and universities, including the major refurbishment of the Christopher Ingold Building at UCL. Located in a Conservation Area, the building required sensitive renewal, with Smart’s thermally efficient Alitherm Heritage windows installed to replace the life‑expired steel fenestration. Combined with new doors and curtain walling, the new systems significantly enhanced the building’s aesthetics, performance and overall energy efficiency.
Alitherm Heritage windows also played a major role in the refurbishment of the University of Glasgow’s Joseph Black Building. Here, more than 1,100 replacement windows were installed, delivering all the benefits of a modern aluminium system while preserving the building’s character and heritage. Together with an extensive portfolio of primary and secondary school projects, as well as further and higher education buildings, Smart has established a proven record in delivering high‑quality, high‑performance solutions, often within tight time frames and on busy, space-constrained sites.
Heritage solution for a landmark building transformation
Windows and doors from the Alitherm Heritage range also featured prominently in the refurbishment of the Art Deco‑style Lanchester Building in Watford.
Originally constructed in 1938, the Lanchester Building was completely transformed into a two‑form entry primary school and nursery for the West Herts Community Free School Trust, becoming the new home of the Lanchester Community Free School. With a design brief centred on retaining the slim lines, characteristic of the building’s original steel windows and an essential feature of Art Deco architecture, more than 70 window assemblies, totalling around 650m², were installed from Smart’s Alitherm Heritage range. These were complemented by 15 entrance door assemblies set in to the Smart Wall framing system. All window and door profiles were finished in white to match the original material, ensuring a durable, low‑maintenance solution that remained faithful to the original building.
A contemporary solution for an award‑winning university library
Smart’s high‑performance systems also provided the ideal specification for the award‑winning University of Roehampton Library, situated at the heart of the university’s 54‑acre campus in Wandsworth. Designed as a light, modern and spacious environment for students and staff, the striking four‑storey facility offers more than 1,200 study spaces and staff work areas, as well as housing approximately 350,000 books.
The library features a selection of Smart’s architectural aluminium systems, including EcoFutural doors, Smart Wall, and MC Wall curtain walling. As the building was designed to operate as a passive structure, with highly insulated façades and exceptional air‑tightness, the thermally efficient EcoFutural system was specified for the library’s large‑format doors, a key element of the building’s visual identity. The curtain walling solution further enhances the structure, with its dramatic façade featuring concealed transoms that create seamless glass‑to‑glass joints. The system also accommodates a series of masonry panels suspended directly from the curtain wall, contributing to the building’s clean, contemporary architecture.
