Facelift for landmark city centre building

RECOGNISABLE: Europa House

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

A city centre landmark is to undergo a major makeover. 

Commercial glazing specialist EYG has been awarded a contract to re-glaze Europa House – one of Hull’s most recognisable buildings. 

The five-story office complex, which dominates the corner of Anlaby Road and Ferensway in the city centre and is to be renamed Monocle, is being brought back into use thanks to an extensive redevelopment led by Allenby Commercial. 

Famed for its golden and silver-tinged reflective appearance, the 1970s building will now be given a modern and vibrant new look by the EYG Commercial team.

The project will see specially manufactured solar glass panels installed to prevent thermal build-up inside the office space, with clear glazing replacing the reflective glass, to give the building a modern appearance.

There is now 1800m² of curtain walling, windows and doors, including more than 400 1m x 2.6m glazed units, in the design stage at EYG’s manufacturing site in Wiltshire Road, with a view to starting installation on site in May. The full glazing project will take about six months to complete.

MAKEOVER: An artist’s impression of Monocle

Richard Saunders, sales and estimating director at EYG Commercial, said: “We are delighted to have secured this contact with Allenby Commercial to breathe new life into what is such a landmark building in our city.

“Obviously, this is a high-profile job given how well-known the building is, and how many people pass it each and every day as they head in and out of the city centre. We know people will be watching on with interest as our teams begin work.

“We have had to design a glazing solution which firstly performs in terms of ensuring it provides a comfortable environment for those inside, and that is where there will be a significant improvement from the past, given the advancements in glazing technology over the past five decades.

“Also, there has been a focus on ensuring the building will retain its striking and impressive appearance on the outside, which with thin metallic painted framing around the glazing, we are all confident it will do. It will have a really modern feel.

“We are very proud to be working alongside another Hull business to transform the building and make it once again stand out as something special, as we are sure it was when it was built back in 1973.”

Allenby Commercial purchased the site in 2018. The redevelopment could house up to 600 occupants after being revamped into a Grade A managed office space, with Paul Swallow, contracts director at the business, saying the aim is to “reintegrate the building with the city” and have office space available by early 2025.

“The building has become iconic due to its distinctive reflective windows, but the impact of that was actually a lack of natural light inside the building itself, and therefore it was not the best of working environments,” he said.

“The new high-efficiency glazing will be floor to ceiling and for the first time, people outside will be able to see the activity within the building, so there will be a connection between the outside and those working inside, which will give it a completely different look and feel.

“We chose EYG Commercial as we know them well, we know the quality of their products and their fitting teams, and have confidence in them to deliver on what is the biggest project we have taken on as a business.

“It’s also another long-established Hull business, which feels right on such a well-known Hull development.”