Case Histories

SUPER SONIC WINDOWS AT NEW PARKWAY STATION

The design and construction of the brand new East Midlands Parkway has been one of the most exciting railway projects for years. With Park & Ride facilities covering Leicester, Derby and Nottingham and a schedule for 100 trains a day with a high speed link to London St. Pancras every 15 minutes at peak travel times, Parkway is to be a heavy use station.  Roger Tillott, the project’s architect for Mackellar Architects of Gateshead ensured that the facilities included in his company’s designs would meet the heavy traffic needs.

The Booking Hall, where fast, efficient service is essential, was a priority and Sonic Windows of Bexhill, experts in security windows for over 25 years, were called on due their considerable expertise to manufacture the adventurous Mackellar design.  Sonic has installed thousands of station booking office windows throughout the country over the past few years the agreed design for Parkway, nine metres by three overall and incorporating four windows 1.9 metres square, was without doubt one of the largest, heaviest and most complicated to date.

With 23.5mm bullet-resistant glass and high appearance counters in 50mm Black Pearl granite it was also very heavy and Sonic enclosed the complete unit in a steel frame for constructional integrity. The specially shaped granite worktops and supports plus the glass screens making the whole project extremely heavy, were all made in Sonic Windows’ workshops from templates taken on site but the components fitted perfectly and the highly complex installation, with shaped glass and heavy marble, proved extremely successful, as there was no room for adjustment on site.

Andrew Pollard, Director of Contractor C. Spencer’s Ltd. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was extremely pleased with the products themselves and especially with the strong support given by Sonic from inception to completion of the booking window project.

The Booking Hall is in a largely black and white colour scheme with the ceiling beams featured in an airy, open plan design. As a result the eye is naturally drawn to the bright colour of the booking office windows, which have surrounds down to the ground in a soothing turquoise shade, while the SGG Planilaque EVOLUTION* which unites coloured lacquer with the brilliance of glass, itself is tinted with a Mint Green colour. A nice touch has been added in that when a booking window is not in use fire resistant blinds coloured in the turquoise of the surround and with the words ‘Position Closed’ printed at eye level, can be lowered.

Naturally less able passengers were not forgotten in the design and each window has a section at a lower level and with a deeper counter so that a wheelchair can comfortably be accommodated. Due to the weight of the wider granite counter a cantilever system, with the counter extending through to the staff side of the glass, has been used to ensure stability. For the benefit of those with hearing aids all windows are fitted with Induction Loops.

Not only are the Parkway booking windows of a high appearance and sleek design, they are also extremely user friendly. The large area of uncluttered glass allows straightforward, unthreatening face-to-face contact between booking staff and traveller aided by the high standard of undistorted sound from the Intercom system. From the staff side the windows offer total safety and protection from theft, while the stainless steel cash tills in the work-top contain locking, removable cash boxes to make staff change-over as speedy and simple as possible.

The total result is a very impressive Booking Office that fully lives up to the high standards demanded within the delightful design of the new East Midlands Parkway Station.

*SGG Planilaque EVOLUTION is a Solaglas trademark.

SONIC SECURITY AT THE NEW ST. MIRREN STADIUM

Having been at their ground at Love Street since 1894, St. Mirren have now moved to a new stadium site about half a mile away in Green Hill Road, Paisley. The old site was sold for retail development in order to clear debts as well as contribute to the building of the new stadium.

When it came to the planning and installation of the five ticket issuing facilities, Barr Construction called on the expertise of Sonic Windows Ltd. of Bexhill-on-Sea, a company that has specialised in communication windows for thirty years. As required, two windows fitted together were installed at the away stand and three windows fitted together were installed at the home stand. The windows, manufactured of clear glass, enable uninterrupted eye contact between staff and public and for security, are glazed in 11.5mm Laminated Security Glass, which will resist anything short of a bullet. The windows are fitted with the 250mm diameter Sonic SPEAKTHRU Easy communicator system, which is suitable for both internal or external weatherproof applications, has excellent two way speech communication yet protects the staff from draughts, dust and germs.

The new ticket windows are now well used and appreciated both by home and away fans and ground staff, a success as you might expect from a company that has manufactured and installed ticket office facilities for over 1000 railway stations as well as DSS, Probation, Hospital and University offices.

SONIC WINDOWS HELPS BOOST LONDON OVERGROUND

When the East London Line from Dalston Junction to West Croydon went into  operation as part of the newly named London Overground in May this year it opened up a whole new option for travellers, especially commuters to the City of London since the new Shoreditch Station is a mere five minutes walk from both Liverpool Street and Bishopsgate. Operated by London Overground Rail Operations Ltd. [LOROL] for Rail for London [RfL], the new line was designed primarily to provide a permanent and more direct service from the East End and the City southwards, also taking some of the strain off the Underground’s Northern Line and the Cannon Street and London Bridge rail termini. The East London Line is also the remaining key component of a new orbital railway at the centre of the Overground network of North, West, South and now East London Lines which will be a key service provider to the 2012 Olympics because the Overground from Dalston links directly through to Stratford. The work completed so far provides trains every five minutes [which will be reduced to every four minutes from 2012] between Dalston and Surrey Quays and includes the building of four brand new stations, refurbishment of six old tunnel stations,  and the purchase of 20 new trains. Needless to say for such an ambitious project the very best in planning, rail expertise and materials were required and one example of the attention to detail demanded is in the construction of ticket office facilities, that most important area of first contact between traveller and station staff. Working closely with main contractor Balfour Beatty-Carillion and sub-contractor Mansell, Sonic Windows Ltd., the acknowledged experts in this field since the company has installed many hundreds of secure, yet welcoming railway and Underground ticket offices over the last 25 years, was called upon for this function, working to produce window systems suited to the very different surroundings and decors of four of the new stations: Dalston Junction, Haggerston, Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street.

For all four, however, the basics were the same but due to fire hazard no timber was used in the fabrication of these window systems and to save disruption on site, the tubular steel frames, the clear glazed areas and the stainless steel countertops and surrounds were in each case fabricated in Sonic’s manufacturing workshops. With virtually no margin for error, precision was essential but no problems were encountered in installing the prefabricated units.

The combination of security against violent theft and attacks on staff on the one hand and friendly, uninterrupted access for the customer on the other was the prime design priority, The screened areas were glazed in 28mm polycarbonate glass capable of resisting attacks by shot gun or even a .44mm Magnum handgun but were totally clear, giving unhampered interaction between traveller and ticket officer. Countertops are generously sized with a bag shelf, the intercom system allows clear, undistorted dialogue and induction loops are fitted for the comfort of hearing aid users. On the staff side the counter incorporates two workstations at different heights. The higher section at counter height has a cash bowl as opposed to a regular cash tray while the lower section has a polished stainless steel cash till with lockable removable cash boxes for easy staff change-over. There is a total of 13 screens servicing the four stations.

The total plan for the London Overground will include a line to Highbury and Islington to be completed within a year from now and an extension to Clapham Junction to be finished in 2012 and the whole network will link into the National Rail system although still overseen by the RfL.

London’s rail system is still largely based on the fantastic rail expansion during Victorian and Edwardian times and it is refreshing to see that modern railway engineers can build a modern railway that incorporates the best of 20th and 21st Century technology while retaining the high standards of craftsmanship of their predecessors. The attention to detail and high quality finish achieved by companies like Sonic Windows set the tone.

SONIC WINDOWS FOR SOUTHEND’S SPACE AGE STATION

Clad in shining steel in a striking futuristic design by Atkins Global, London Southend Airport is that rare phenomenon in our country, where the rail system is dominated by Victorian and Edwardian architecture, a brand new railway station. With overtones of a Star Wars space ship outside and with ultra modern, minimalistic decoration within, the new station was built by Birse Rail as Main Contractor to, and in close co-operation with, Stobart Rai,l whose parent company owns the Airport itself. The station is designed to ensure the easiest of access for air travellers, being only a short walking distance from the airport’s terminal building. For the planning and installation of windows for the Booking Office, Birse Rail called on Sonic Windows of Bexhill-on-Sea, a company that has specialised in security windows for well over 25 years and has installed many hundreds of booking office windows in the UK’s rail system.  Sonic’s window is absolutely in line with the unfussy, practical surrounding décor with two large, plain glazed windows surrounded by a block of blue in marked contrast with the near-white walls. On the rail customer’s side, the booking office counter is a plain white table supported by one central leg and is designed at the right height and with sufficient depth to allow comfortable wheel chair access. The windows themselves, though clear and uncluttered, are in toughened, laminated, thief-proof glazing that protects staff from attack, germs and even cold air, yet allows the secure exchange of money and tickets without any overt threat to the customer.

The intercom system grants clear undistorted communication and induction loops are fitted for hearing aid users. On the other side of the glass the cashier’s table is easily height adjustable so that staff can be standing or seated according to personal preference. When one window is not in use, a blind aptly inscribed ‘Position Closed’ can be simply drawn down.

POLICEMAN’S LOT A LITTLE HAPPIER WITH SONIC WINDOWS

Police Station design always involves a compromise between the need for security and the necessity of presenting a friendly, unthreatening face to the public. During the recent refurbishment of four Police Stations in Wales that compromise has been neatly achieved by the installation of large communication windows of clear glass in the reception areas. Working closely with Main Contractor T. Richard Jones Ltd., Sonic Windows of Bexhill has installed security windows in the Stations at Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Fishguard and Llanelli granting the public easy, unstressful communication and the officers on the other side of the glass safety and security.

The multilaminated glass is effective against physical attack yet allows unrestricted eye contact, while the Open Duplex intercom system offers easy, undistorted communication. Induction loops are fitted to the window frames for the benefit of those with hearing aids and the opportunity has also been taken to improve access for disabled visitors. One half of each window area extends down to a low level, and the counter area on that side is deeper for the convenience of wheelchair users. Every effort has been taken by the Sonic design team to make these reception areas friendly places. In the case of Llanelli Police Station for example the rather forbidding modernity of the walls and ceiling has been tempered by the inclusion of light-stained timber counters above a homely brick base beneath the windows.

The counters have recessed trays so that documents can be simply but safely passed through.

Close co-operation between Sonic Windows and T. Richard Jones ensured that disruption to police routines was kept to a minimum during the refurbishment work.