VELUX Glazing Panels bring daylight to an 18th century Cornish jail to support the transformation into a luxury hotel.
All that was left of the powerful-looking Victorian Bodmin Jail in Cornwall, United Kingdom, was a ruin without a roof, with vegetation slowly taking over. In 2015, Mallino Development appointed the services of Twelve Architects to undertake an impressive redevelopment project of the jail and turn it into a modern and aesthetically quite different hotel. To deliver the modern comforts hotel guests expect during their stay and the thermal efficiency required for sustainable operation of the hotel, a holistic system using VELUX Glazing Panels was designed. It took 214 VELUX Glazing Panels to recapture the original rooflighting sitting above the two historic wings.
Whilst the plan was to create an outstanding building, there were many challenges to overcome. The jail is a Grade II listed building, which means that it has particular historic and architectural significance and therefore is subject to regulations which protect its unique character. This of course affected the installations in the building and required that we used custom-sized glazing panels of various shapes. Moreover, other challenges were the poor thermal efficiency from the remaining structure and a colony of bats that had made it their home. The design for the new slate roof contained a large rooflight area and the architects were keen to specify our thermally efficient, opening rooflights that would fit into the energy strategy for the new hotel, while providing summer comfort ventilation and fulfilling the necessary smoke clearance and fire strategy. The project was finished in 2021.
Read more about the historic Bodmin Jail