York Guildhall

Client: Vinci Construction

The Problem

Following years of exposure to weather and increased flood events from the River Ouse, part of the planned £16.5 million refurbishment of the historic Guildhall included designing a modern system for flood resilience to the lower riverside access.

As a listed building, it was essential to maintain the existing appearance. External windows and access doors needed to blend seamlessly into the structure while still providing modern flood protection.

The Solution

To protect the riverside basement façade, one external flood door and two internal flood doors were installed, as well as measures to protect 14 stained-glass windows. M3 Floodtec also implemented secondary flood-resilient clear glazing units into the masonry frames in front of the existing windows and provided three new steel flood doors.

The external door was made bespoke for the Guildhall in order to closely match the existing 18th-century door.

Works were completed in February 2021.