Observatory House, Slough
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Location: Windsor Road, Slough
Client: XLP Property Ltd
Status: Completed 2017
Size: 9,000 sq m
ESA have completed the comprehensive refurbishment of this 1980's office building in the town centre of Slough for property developers XLB.
We were instructed in 2014 to prepare design concepts and proposals for upgrading this once tired office building into a new contemporary office development.
The building occupies a prominent position situated on the corner of Windsor Road and Herschel Street. Windsor Road itself is a mainly commercial street running south from the Slough Town Centre. The street is mixed in terms of bulk, mass, scale and styles of buildings, generally 4-8 stories in height. The immediate area also has medium to low rise residential development peppered with some larger scale buildings of varying architectural quality.
The project contained an interesting modernist sculpture by Franta Belsky, that celebrates the achievements of the astronomer William Herschel and his telescope/observatory that was historically located on or near this site. This sculpture, unveiled and presented to the town on 5 June 1969, has been retained and incorporated into the completed scheme.
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