INTERIORS
constructionmanagermagazine.com
CONSERVATION IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER WILLMOTT DIXON INTERIORS’ REFURBISHMENT OF THE HISTORIC OLD ADMIRALTY BUILDING IN WESTMINSTER IS FINALLY COMPLETE. WILL MANN WAS GIVEN THE GRAND TOUR
The oak-panelled corridors of the Old Admiralty Building reek with history. Backing on to Horse Guards Parade in the heart of Westminster, it has been the headquarters of the British Navy, home of Winston Churchill when he was First Lord of the Admiralty, and where naval intelligence officer and James Bond author Ian Fleming worked.
More recently, the OAB, as it is known in government parlance, has been undergoing a major refurbishment. Willmott Dixon Interiors (WDI) has been reconfiguring the Grade II-listed building with a CAT B fit out, creating over 250,000 sq ft of commercial office space across five floors, including a basement.
Heritage features such as oak panelling and terrazzo flooring were retained and restored
This has been a cut and carve operation on a staggering scale. The OAB is a rabbit warren of more than 650 rooms and the refurbishment has involved 1,000 penetrations, most of them to fit new MEP services. Heritage works have been a requirement of every corridor, room and staircase. And then there was the asbestos.
20 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
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20/10/2020 11:33
