Case Study

Embassy of Mexico

About the Project

The Embassy of Mexico is Mexico’s diplomatic mission to the United Kingdom. It is based at 16 St George Street in Mayfair, just off Hanover Square.

The embassy occupies a Grade II listed Georgian terrace townhouse built around 1717–20. Its red-brick neighbours are left as brick, but No. 16 is stuccoed and painted white. It has four storeys over a basement, rusticated stone quoins, and tall multi-paned sash windows set in stone surrounds. The building next door, No. 17, was formerly occupied by Morris & Co, the decorative arts firm founded by William Morris.

All Clean London cleans the windows at the embassy, covering both the street-facing facade and the rear elevation.

The Challenge

The embassy is a working diplomatic and consular building, so any cleaning has to fit around embassy staff, consular visitors and the security arrangements that come with a diplomatic site.

On the front elevation, the windows are traditional Georgian sashes spread across four storeys. Around them are a projecting flagpole and national crest, wall lanterns, CCTV cameras and railings guarding the basement lightwell. Leaning ladders against the painted stucco of a listed building isn’t a suitable option.

The rear elevation is tighter still. It is an enclosed courtyard overhung by a steel fire escape and surrounded by taller buildings, which leaves no room for a cherry picker or other powered access.

The Solution

All Clean London cleans the embassy’s windows from the ground using an extended water-fed pole system. Purified water is fed through the pole to a brush head, which lets our operatives reach the top-floor sash windows from the pavement and the rear courtyard. No ladders touch the historic facade and no cleaning chemicals are used.

The same method works on both elevations. Nothing needs to be positioned in the narrow street or set up in the confined courtyard behind the building.

Work starts in the early morning, before the street gets busy and before the embassy opens to visitors.

The Result

The embassy’s windows are cleaned across the front and rear elevations, from the ground floor to the top storey, without any contact with the listed facade. Because the work is done early in the morning, staff and visitors are kept clear of it, and the building is ready for the working day.