SCOPE OF WORK

The Connaught Hotel is a Grade II listed building, constructed in 1897 in central Mayfair. This hotel has a unique reputation for delivering a reverent level of service and acting as a home away from home for the social and cultural elite.

The building with its small footprint and location in central Mayfair posed a logistical conundrum. Grosvenor Estates, Westminster City Council and powerful neighbours all had to be appeased to secure a workable solution for all parties.

The building was fully scaffolded with a temporary roof spanning the whole site. This was a necessity to ensure that water tightness was maintained throughout the heavy structural alteration work so as to protect the listed features.

Site accommodation for both welfare and office facilities to cope with 350 personnel was installed within the internal footprint. This was relocated several times throughout the project to accommodate the various phases of work.

The key heavy structural alterations involved the removal of the existing roof and replacement with a reinforced concrete slab together with reconstruction of a cut away mansard roof, reconfiguration of existing internal floor space using steel transfer structures, the formation of two new lift shafts and the complete reconfiguration of the basement including full new drainage and staircase. The cut away mansard roof allowed the new capital plant to be concealed and acoustically attenuated. The roof reconstruction was undertaken in traditional welsh slate with leaded dormer windows.

Another key structural element was the demolition of the existing Red Room terrace and the formation of a new build glazed extension to the Mount Street elevation. This involved complicated reinforced concrete frame work at basement level and bespoke drainage system installations.

In parallel, the complete external elevation was renovated with major stone and masonry replacement / restoration.

The pre-Christmas handover involved making operational the entire basement, ground floor and main core areas on first and second floor with 14 guestrooms.

The guestroom floor fabric was reconstructed and the space fitted out to designs by Oliver Laws, Phillip Rogers and coordinated by Blair Associated. No two guestrooms and bathrooms were the same with precision construction required to cope with the detailed, no-tolerance design.