MENU Retractable Awning at Radisson Blu Edwardian - Leicester Square London, England You are here Home » Retractable Awning at Radisson Blu Edwardian - Leicester Square View additional photos In the heart of London’s famed West End theatre district lies Leicester Square where you will find the neighborhood’s newest landmark lodging destination—The Londoner—a soon-to-be-opened (Fall 2021) property in the luxury portfolio of Edwardian Hotels (the same group that operates the adjacent Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire hotel). For their ambitious new "world's first super boutique" luxury hotel, the owners’ architects at Woods Bagot sought an operable closure solution befitting the property’s unique and elegant terrace, which appears to hover six storeys above the floor inside a roofless open-air atrium. So they turned to the experts at Uni-Systems to design and supply an En-Fold® retractable canopy two storeys above their suspended terrace that would not only match the hotel’s daring yet refined architecture, but would also repel London’s mythic fog and rain, or—at the mere touch of a button—allow natural light and air to flow into the atrium. Fixed to custom steel structure (by Tony Hogg Design) two storeys above the ingenious “floating island” terrace and a total of eight storeys above the floor of the hotel’s atrium, a three drive beam En-Fold® retractable canopy system (installed by Base Structures, UK) covers 2100 square feet with an extension of 45 feet and a width of 47 feet. Ten fabric panels of premium architectural-grade Sefar® Tenara® 4T40 ePTFE (lifespan of 25+ years) tension taut between eleven aluminum fabric beams beautifully anodized in light bronze. This En-Fold® project posed several considerable design and engineering challenges. Due to stringent London fire and life safety requirements, building codes dictated that this En-Fold® canopy have a redundant retraction system to vent any smoke that could accumulate in the atrium in the event of a fire. While the En-Fold’s primary electronic control module—which is connected to the building’s fire alarm system—normally prompts the En-Fold® system to retract the canopy in the case of a fire, should this primary system somehow fail the secondary foolproof retraction system will step in to open the canopy for smoke ventilation. Uni-Systems engineered and constructed an entirely bespoke redundant canopy retraction system that is integrated into the En-Fold, yet operates with its own completely independent controls to ensure the life safety of the atrium’s occupants below. Additionally, because of high wind loads to the center of the En-Fold® canopy, the middle drive beam needed supplemental structural support. So Uni-Systems attached a custom pre-cambered hollow structural steel beam to the standard aluminum En-Fold® drive beam, resulting in an artfully integrated structural member virtually invisible to anyone viewing the En-Fold® canopy system from below. This London, England project proves once again Uni-Systems’ ability to design and supply En-Fold® retractable canopy systems anywhere across the globe while applying the same engineering excellence and design quality to solve virtually any client challenge. Back to project gallery PROJECT INFORMATION Client: Base Structures, UK Completion Date: 04/2019 Project Scope: Design and supply of the En-Fold retractable fabric canopy system and bespoke redundant drive system Project Engineer: GLR Engineers Architect/Designer: Woods Bagot Engineer of Record: Tony Hogg Design Fabric Fabricator: Lightweight Manufacturing Steel Fabricator: Base Structures, UK General Contractor: Blue Sky Building Installer: Base Structures, UK Plan Area: 2100 sq ft Design Wind Load: 20psf (ASD) En‐Fold Retractable Canopy: Extension: 45’ Width: 47’ Number of Drive Beams: 3 Fabric: Sefar Tenara 4T40 Previous RETRACTABLE AWNING AT 92Y New York, NY Next Get inspired. Envision En-Fold® GET FRESH INSPIRATION IN YOUR INBOX Stadium-Grade Retractable Awning System INQUIRE NOW or call 763-404-8820 En-fold® Overview Retractable awning Product Details Services & Support Sustainability Pro Resources Project Gallery Inquire Now About Uni-Systems From the company who designed, engineered, and built the world's most iconic, large-scale, kinetic structures and stadiums. En-Fold® is a registered trademark of Uni-Systems, LLC. | © 2021 Uni-Systems, LLC