Promat fire protection for Rochdale Town Hall
A large gothic window of the Grade One listed Rochdale Town Hall has been given a 21st century fire protection upgrade using Promat Systemglas as part of a multi-million pound restoration project.
The window is a key feature of the newly created Bright Hall, a new community space on the second floor of the 19th century building.
It features the Promat Systemglas Ligna fire resistant glazing system to provide an EI60 integrity and insulation level of protection. Installed adjacent to the gothic window, this separate timber framed window perfectly matches the shape of the original pointed arch to minimise its visual impact.
To ensure the window would provide assured protection, the Systemglas Ligna EI60 timber framing features Promaseal PL graphite-based intumescent seals, and the glass is an external grade product offering additional UV protection.
Promat UK and its approved installer, Rated Solutions, worked together closely to ensure the new window would match the gothic shape of the existing window, which involved multiple site visits to obtain accurate templates
As Promat UK has full control of the raw material sourcing, manufacturing and installation work on every project of this kind, it is in a unique position to offer a 360-degree ‘wheel of assurance’ on the completed project. This provides a certificate of conformity to the client on project completion, in line with the golden thread, which confirms the fire rated glazing has been manufactured and installed in line with the specified design and best practice, for additional peace of mind.
The fire consultant advising on the glazing installation was Jerry Quayle, who commented:
“Given that national significance of Rochdale Town Hall, it was crucial that any measures taken to improve fire safety were handled sensitively to preserve the aesthetics and to ensure its original character and features were retained.
“The solution developed by Promat here met the performance and design criteria extremely well, and is a key part of a passive fire protection strategy which works to maintain the safety of people should they need to evacuate the building in the event of a fire, and protect this unique building.”