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The Client.
In 2002, The Royal Society embarked upon a long planned building programme to refurbish and improve working and archive areas within their historic Carlton House Terrace headquarters situated off Pall Mall in London.
A major part of the programme was to provide improved storage facilities for their unique and irreplaceable information library, comprising some 70,000 books and journals dating back to the 17th Century.
The Challenge.
The books were inefficiently stored within several rooms in the Basement and on various Mezzanine areas and, together with the myriad of shelving systems in use, the Royal Society recognised that a viable alternative was required.
Having a clear idea of the quality and type of shelving required for the new facility, The Royal Society invited a number of shelving companies to submit preliminary proposals.
The Solution.
Following consultations, presentations and a visit to the prestigious Surrey History Centre, The Royal Society decided that the QB2 range from Metalrax Storage, with its general compliance to standards demanded by BS 5454:2000, ideally met their needs. Having seen the Surrey History Centre installation they also accepted that Metalrax Storage had the experience and knowledge to undertake their project.
In conjunction with the project architect, Metalrax Storage designed optimum mobile shelving layouts in several rooms. The shelving varying in depth to accommodate the multitude of different sized books. A number of bays were fitted with doors to provide added security. Shelving bay heights varied considerably to take account of overhead ducting, beams and lights. Open type side frames were used to promote air circulation, and since QB2 requires no back bracing, double sided shelving bays are being used for “through shelving” to accommodate extra deep items.
All shelving components and bases were painted Ivory to meet The Royal Society’s specific requirements for a clinically clean and bright environment.
To ease installation, the mobile base rails were surface mounted with the infill floor covering whole room areas to eliminate trip hazards and allow easy trolley access.
The Main Contractor was working to a very precise schedule and, despite difficult routes to access the site, Metalrax Storage ensured that the project was completed on time.
The end result is a modern and efficient archive providing some shelving that will serve The Royal Society well for many years to come.
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