Contract awarded to re-glaze landmark city office complex

Hull-based commercial glazing specialist, EYG, has been awarded the contract to re-glaze the prominent Europa House building.

The five-storey 1970s office complex, which dominates the corner of Anlaby Road and Ferensway in the city centre and is to be renamed ‘Monocle’, is being brought back into use thanks to an extensive redevelopment led by another Hull business, Allenby Commercial.

The contract secured by the EYG Commercial team will see specially manufactured solar glass panels installed to prevent thermal build-up inside the office space, with clear glazing replacing the reflective glass, to give the building a more modern appearance.

Richard Saunders, sales and estimating director at EYG Commerical, said 1,800m square metres of curtain walling, windows and doors, including more than 400 glazed units, are now in the design stage at the company’s manufacturing site in Wiltshire Road, with a view to installation beginning on site in May.

The full glazing project will take about six months to complete.

An impression of what the building will look like after it has been revamped

Saunders said: “We are pleased to have secured this contact with Allenby Commercial to breathe new life into what is such a landmark building in our city.

“Obviously, this is a high-profile job given how well-known the building is, and how many people pass it each and every day as they head in and out of the city centre. We know people will be watching on with interest as our teams begin work.

“We have had to design a glazing solution which firstly performs in terms of ensuring it provides a comfortable environment for those inside, and that is where there will be a significant improvement from the past given the advancements in glazing technology over the past five decades.

“Also, there has been a focus on ensuring the building will retain its striking and impressive appearance on the outside, which with thin metallic painted framing around the glazing, we are all confident it will do. It will have a really modern feel.

“We are very proud to be working alongside another Hull business to transform the building and make it once again stand out as something special, as we are sure it was when it was built back in 1973.”

Allenby Commercial purchased the site in 2018. The redevelopment could house up to 600 occupants after being revamped into Grade A managed office space.

Paul Swallow, contracts director at the business, said the aim is to have office space available by early 2025.

He added: “The building has become iconic due to its distinctive reflective windows, but the impact of that was actually a lack of natural light inside the building itself, and therefore it was not the best of working environments.

“The new high-efficiency glazing will be floor to ceiling and for the first time people outside will be able to see the activity within the building, so there will be a connection between the outside and those working inside, which will give it a completely different look and feel.

“We chose EYG Commercial as we know them well, we know the quality of their products and their fitting teams, and have confidence in them to deliver on what is the biggest project we have taken on as a business.”