The £4.7m project will see Beard undertake an external refurbishment of the 260,000 sq ft building, including its distinctive yellow steel ‘umbrella masts’ and frame.
The building was designed by Sir Norman Foster for French car manufacturer Renault and opened as the Renault Centre in 1982. It became a Grade II listed building in 2013, embodying the vernacular of the British high tech movement.
It may be more familiar to architecture ignorami as a shooting location in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, with Roger Moore.
In addition to the installation of a new liquid-applied roof coating, works will include the refurbishment and decoration of the external cladding and fire escapes. Internally, the Beard team will also be overhauling the existing M&E (mechanical and electrical) and fire systems.
The team at Beard is working with the building’s managers MAPP Building Consultancy and other partners to complete the project.
It has already started refreshing the look of the historic building, working with Davis Roofing to install the Polyroof liquid system and both Bagnalls Decorations and Just Spray to redecorate the steel frame and silver wall panels.
Due to its listed status, colour matching the yellow paint for the steel frame has presented its own challenges. Using an inconspicuous area inside the building, both Beard and Bagnalls were able to test multiple samples to find the best match.
Jamie Harwood, Beard’s Swindon director, said: “As a proud Swindon firm with roots dating back more than 130 years in the town, we’re immensely proud to be involved in the regeneration of another one of Swindon’s most iconic buildings. While it may not be your traditional listed building, it still presents its own challenges and calls upon our expertise in the heritage sector to ensure the project is completed both sensitively and to the very highest of standards.”
The start on site follows the completion of another historic project in Swindon for Beard. It has just completed the second phase of regeneration at Brunel’s Carriage Works in the town. Near Swindon, the contractor is also working on a £2.3m redevelopment of the Grade II listed science block at Marlborough College.
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