With just a small footprint, Aldgate Pavilion, is a truly striking addition to the area, operating as a café and run by a community enterprise.
The steel and glass café centrepiece, which benefits the local community, can be opened up to connect with the surrounding redeveloped garden, hence creating a true social hub. The space has the opportunity to host meetings, exhibitions, yoga classes and more – and less than a year since opening, it’s proving to be a popular gathering place for the local community and the City at large.Cantifix achieved the maximum use of light and space through their range of structural glazing. Achieving a grander sense of space from within this small frame, Cantifix installed expansive Sky-Frame sliding doors, Cantifix’s PureGlaze door and triangular rooflights creating a vibrant social platform.
Charlie Sharman, CEO of Cantifix commented: “It’s noticeable from within The Pavilion how light the interior feels, which has been achieved through the use of our glazing solutions.
“This is an impressive engineering and design construction with just shy of 100m² of glass utilised on the Pavilion. It was a pleasure to be part of a community project and we’re immensely proud of the results.”
The architects, Make Architects, were tasked with a brief that was two-fold: the design had to tie in with the award-winning visitor information centre at St Paul’s Cathedral, and respect the listed church and school nearby.
Subsequently, they designed an asymmetrical steel structure with sliding glass walls set between three triangular support points. The steel was to complement the metallic envelope of the information centre and is a corrosion-resistant weathering variety, so it will oxidise and eventually turn orange and brown – hues that correspond with those of the surrounding historic buildings.
The retail space of Aldgate Pavilion is 250m² and open to the public.
About Cantifix:
Cantifix was founded in 1986 by two of its current directors; Charlie and William Sharman. At inception, Cantifix was purely a conservatory business, but it wasn’t long before they found their true calling: innovation.
Cantifix subsequently took on groundbreaking experimental projects, attracting the attention of distinguished architects and earned their place amongst the leading names in specialist glazing. They refused to accept the impossible, leading to their steadfast commitment to new technologies, a passion for excellence, and persistence to find success through pushing the boundaries with what can be achieved with glass.