The glazing for the new Marks & Spencer site in St Helens has been produced just a few hundred metres away at Pilkington UK’s Alexandra Works site.
The new M&S store better suits customers changing shopping habits, whilst being an investment in the local community – both current and future.
The storefront features Pilkington Planar™ structural glazing, a frameless system that uses countersunk stainless-steel bolts which sit flush with the external surface of the glass. Pilkington Planar™ minimises the appearance of the bolts without compromising the integrity of the system. The bolts are connected back to internal vertical glass fins to provide resistance against lateral loads (such as wind).
The two-story façade uses a combination of insulated double-glazed units on the upper floor and laminated single-glazing on the lower level.
By including double-glazing in the upper floor, the glazing has been given a lower U-value, ensuring greater thermal efficiency while creating a comfortable space to comply with building regulations.
Pilkington Optiwhite™ true low-iron glass has been used throughout, ensuring that the glazing is close to colourless, giving visitors a view through the shop front to the product displays inside.
Screen printing has been used on the units that sit in front of the steel frame and the space between floors, disguising the building’s structure and providing a clean aesthetic to the façade. This helps draw the eye towards the shopfront displays, creating a more inviting experience for customers.
Jamie Wood, director at Pozzoni Architecture commented: "We are thrilled with the quality of the completed scheme and pleased it has been very well received by the local community."
Gary Stonelake, business development manager for Pilkington Planar™ said: “As a business with almost 200 years of heritage in St Helens, it’s very appropriate that this significant new store for the town features our glass.
“This storefront is another great example of how Pilkington Planar™ allows maximised sight-lines for prospective shoppers while letting natural light deep into building interiors and also delivering impressive energy-saving and safety performance.”
David Ayre, Programme Manager at M&S said: “We work hard to make sure our stores look inviting to customers, and that they feel airy and well-lit inside. It’s great that for this store we were able to source the glazing that made this possible from a very local supplier!”