The largest hotel to be built in London in 35 years, the Doubletree Hotel was previously known as the Mint Hotel Tower. The 11-story, 583-bedroom hotel features approximately 23,680 square feet of QUARTZ-ZINC wall panels from Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C. The panels were built up in three zones. Horizontal, interlocking and spandrel panels were fabricated and fitted by contractor Deepdale Solutions, Hartlepool, Tees Valley, England. The zinc color integrates perfectly with the building’s natural stone façades and is a prominent feature of the 360-degree view from the SkyLounge, a public penthouse bar.
In addition to perforated movable solar shading screens, the design by Bennetts Associates, London, also called for moveable solar shading screens. The prevailing urban grain of the area is tight and dense with most blocks of building defined by the medieval streets as they fan out from one of the city’s original gates. This geographical requirement meant that façade panels were constructed off site and then craned into position, therefore saving costly on-site installation time.
Umicore Building Products USA Inc., www.vmzinc-us.com,
