Gladswood Apartment

Collaborator

Paul Fletcher – Heritage Architect

Scope

Opening of enclosed balcony

Completed

January 2021

The project was to recreate a balcony on the top floor of a 1940’s Art Deco apartment aimed to take full advantage of the harbour-front location, while respecting the heritage qualities of the building.

The owner, a heritage architect, designed the alterations to align with the proportions and materials of the balconies below, introducing a new picture window and glass cavity-slider door from the living room to the balcony extending the flow of the apartment.

The new curved, brick balcony dwarf wall and curved glass and stainless-steel balustrade read as original but are designed and built to meet current engineering and building code requirements for a safe space.

A series of small circular port hole windows using glass bricks have been incorporated into a patterned brickwork pier to complement the nautical style.

The balcony is a small space, but presented challenges including working at height, bespoke manufacture and coordinating the skills of virtually every trade to produce quality finishes.

The tradesmen used by Robert Plumb Fix were as skilled as the craftsmen of the 1940s. Some 80 years after the building’s Inter-War construction this restoration fits seamlessly into the original design