Example Projects / Commercial / Bletchley Park

PDA's Premier Trophy Awards Competition 2006 - national recognition for Kents Hill Training Centre project

'Block B', the new exhibition area at Bletchley Park, was re-opened by The Duke of Kent on 10th June 2004 in time for the D Day landing celebrations. But in the months before that date, it was ESK whose responsibility it was to make sure it was ready for the occasion. Block B will eventually house most of the Bletchley Park Trust's collection and will provide education facilities, plus a restaurant - and ESK were tasked with its total internal and external refurbishment.

The building had been unoccupied since 1993 and as a result, was very run down and in a state of extreme disrepair. The external masonry and brickwork were in a very poor condition and there was extensive water damage inside from a leaking roof. The renovation involved removing the loose external coatings which had broken down, stabilizing the surface, treating it with a fungicidal wash and then applying two coats of Dulux All Seasons masonry paint, which has an expected life of up to 15 years. Internally, they also had to carry out repairs to water-damaged areas, apply stain sealer and then apply an acrylic eggshell-finish paint to return the rooms to their original 1940's décor - which included painting the ceilings black!

ESK were also asked to renovate the famous 'Hut 4' which housed the Japanese and Western Europe Cryptography teams until September 1942 when they moved into the main building. As this hut is made entirely of wood the decoration had to accommodate that fact. Complete removal of the existing coating by chemical stripping was followed by application of a water-borne coating (Bradite WC42) - as this is a very flexible paint and allowed for movement in the substrate, which is typical in a building of this construction.