Stunning roof terrace completed at IET London Savoy Place, incredible views across the city from this beautiful space

Refurbishment projects for balconies and terraces represent major challenges for residential buildings in terms of resident upheaval, compliant specification of new material, achieving safe solutions, and aesthetic impact. For commercial buildings, however, these concerns are magnified. Ensuring the smooth operation of the project from conception to completion is key to delivering project success for any venue, particularly so for buildings in sensitive locations. Close collaboration with all stakeholders is essential to achieve the right outcome.

AliDeck are thrilled to have supported such a key remediation project at IET London: Savoy Place and on a recent site visit following completion we enjoyed the incredible views that overlook some of London’s most iconic scenery. The venue has been home to the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) since 1909 and hosts a wide range of events every year. It’s a real peach of a building, steeped in history.

We like to work closely with our customers, ensuring that the right specifications are made to create project success for all stakeholders. In this instance, John from IET joined our estimating team in undertaking numerous site visits throughout the early stages. Careful surveying allowed us to ensure that the right products were specified for the most cost-effective solution.

Precise attention to detail was imperative for this project. Aesthetics of the finished install were extremely important as the location of the building in Central London alongside its neighbouring historical buildings required a seamless integration.

With the regular events that occur on the Savoy Place terrace, the London Eye is located just a stone’s throw away across the river meaning the terrace has the potential to be seen by thousands of people on a daily basis.

Close collaboration key to roof terrace decking replacement success

Due to our hand-in-glove working relationship, IET and AliDeck were able to successfully oversee the transformation of the terrace from start to finish. Upon our initial site visit, we could see that the terrace had steels at 400mm centres, accompanied by timber decking and joists which had begun to show signs of age. In May 2022 the final material specification was agreed by all parties and the AliDeck team moved into production.

Phase one saw the stairs and lower part of the terrace refurbished. These areas were used as a “proof of concept” of sorts to prove the practical and aesthetic impacts of our aluminium decking boards. In this section, we supplied our Junior Ridged Decking Board, Lite Joist & Pedestal Brackets with spreader plates. The outcome was positive, with all stakeholders pleased with the end result and satisfied to proceed to the whole terrace area.

Phase two included the roof terrace elevated platform, the main event space overlooking the Thames. Here, the installation team were tasked with the removal of the existing timber decking, taking the terrace back to expose the steel frame. Our aluminium decking boards and support bearing joists could then be installed directly into the framework at the required build height.

Due to the size of the supplied material, it could not be transported to the terrace internally, meaning a crane was required to lift the material from the kerbside up to the roof terrace. As you can imagine, this is no easy feat to achieve in central London but, again, the close collaboration between the AliDeck and IET teams made for a smooth and successful operation.

The required build-up height was 50mm, and a 30mm aluminium box section with our 20mm Junior Board satisfied this and proved a cost-effective solution. The decking boards run front to back on the terrace with a space of 2mm between the ends of each board to allow for expansion under summer temperatures. The box section runs every 400mm on top of the existing steel framework to provide stable support.

Bespoke details easily achieved with versatile aluminium decking system

A notable bespoke feature for this project was the use of 35 unique access hatches. These were required to allow access to electrical points and other vital infrastructure located under the terrace decking. It was essential that easy access for engineers be available should any electrical issues or other maintenance requirement arise.

To create these hatches, the installation team precisely cut our non-combustible decking boards to size and fixed to short lengths of the aluminium box section. A simple slanted cut to the ends of the box sections allows for easy opening.

Another unique feature to the terrace is the addition of LED uplights in the decking boards, creating atmospheric lighting for evening events. These bespoke lights are sited in the central fixings channel in the boards. Instead of using the board’s clip the entire length of the fixing channel to conceal the fixings, the installation team instead used short lengths of semi-opaque plastic to allow light to pass through from installed LED strips. The effect is really quite something and it’s great to see the versatility of our products demonstrated in such a striking way.

The refurbishment of the terrace area and the removal of the combustible materials has delivered a fire-safe solution that will last for a minimum of 60 years, proving a future-proof and cost-effective investment.

An excellent level of workmanship has resulted in a fantastic outcome for all stakeholders involved in such a prestigious project, which is of course the only acceptable outcome when partnering with AliDeck as we ensure that project success is built into all aspects of our products and operations. We’re delighted with the transformation we have seen to the IET London: Savoy Place roof terrace. Having been deeply invested in this project for over a year it’s really heart-warming to see it all come together so well. Hats off to the IET team for a job well done!