Historic building renovation enjoys sea and sky views thanks to Xtralite

A historic building in the seaside town of Whitley Bay has undergone a radical renovation and development programme restoring it to its former glory.

Spanish City, which was constructed in 1910, has been given a new lease of life as part of a coastal development plan driven by North Tyneside County Council. Its unusual name is reputedly borne from the ‘Toreadors’ concert party who played on a temporary stage in what was then home to Rockliffe Rugby Club between 1904 and 1907. To protect their audience from the inclement North Eastern weather, canvas and wood awnings were built and painted to look like a Spanish Village and the rest, as they say is history.

Fast forward to the 21st century and the £10m investment has seen the restoration of original features along with modern extensions and the wonderful rotunda atop the building has been beautifully brought back to life as a focal point of the project. The ceiling of the central space has been removed from the ground floor to allow visitors to see the iconic dome and the architectural detail.

“We are proud to have been able to supply products to this stunning project which will rejuvenate the heart of this seaside community,” said Jim Lowther sales director Xtralite. “Our rooflights will allow visitors to make the most of the lovely sea views and have integrated seamlessly into the heart of the building with ease, balancing practicality and aesthetics perfectly.”

Xtralite supplied products from its X-Glaze range which incorporated a series of self-supporting 37.5mm double glazed units with dimension of 4.92 metres wide and a slope length of 2.52m pitched at 5° 7 units covering an area of 86.78 sqm.

The Double Glazed Glass units were made up of 10mm thick Guardian SunGuard 70/35 toughened solar control outer pane, 16mm Argon filled cavity with black spacer bar, 11.5mm thick clear heat strengthened laminate with Ionomer interlayer and black boarder to give building users greater comfort. Practically, the units were fitted directly to the builder’s kerb and resulted in a 1.2 W/m²°K Ud value (relating to the glazing units only).

Andrew Coleman, Senior Project Manager at Robertson Construction, main contractors for the project commented; “It was important to flood the building with as much natural light as possible and to capitalise on the lovely sea views afforded from certain aspects of the building. Balancing comfort, aesthetics, building regulations and thermal efficiencies can be tricky but the reputation and reliability of Xtralite products allowed us to fulfil all requirements. Supply was efficient and technical information and support was readily available allowing us to stay on track with our timescales to meet the launch deadline of summer 2018.”

Jim concluded: “This is a prime example of how modern products can be used in historic restoration programmes to great effect sympathetically embracing the fabric of the building but making it fit for its new intended purpose.”

X-Glaze is just one of a range of glazing and rooflight products offered by Xtralite.