Situated opposite Buckingham Palace is No. 1 Palace Street which consists of 72 luxury apartments in a six-storey Grade II listed building. Previously named ‘The Palace Hotel’ London based architects, Squire & Partners, have redeveloped the residential building and included five architectural styles to main the former heritage while complimenting surrounding buildings. The five architectural designs include Beaux-Arts, French and Italian Renaissance, Queen Anne and 21st Century Contemporary.
Squire & Partners specified KEIM Mineral Paints as the building needed a breathable paint system to be applied onto new lime render and help historic issues with excess moisture. Architectural Business Development Manager, Anton Boekhoudt, visited site and recommended removing all existing non-breathable coatings using KEIM STS 7M, an environmentally friendly paint softener, alongside DOFF cleaning, a high-temperature steam system that uses low-pressure water to safety clean surfaces.
It is important for buildings to breathe, in particular historic buildings. Older or heritage buildings, such as churches or listed properties, or those positioned in exposed locations, often suffer with damp. This is a build-up of trapped moisture within the walls or bricks. Paints such as KEIM, which have high-water vapour permeability (breathability) can help any humidity that has been captured in buildings to be quickly released into the environment. This release of moisture helps to prevent longer term damage such as erosion, blistering, damp or flaking paint.
Regular site visits were carried out by Anton with the main contactor, Paye Stonework and Restoration Ltd and decorators, Hugh Anthony Interiors Ltd, to check the moisture levels prior to decorating. KEIM Mineral Paints should be applied onto wind dry surfaces where the moisture content on or near the surface (to a depth of 5mm approximately) should be no greater than 18% by volume. For on-site purposes a moisture meter may be used to give a qualitative reading – if the reading is in the green zone decoration may proceed.
Once all surfaces were dry and ready to paint, a first coat of KEIM Silan Primer, a waterproof primary coat, was applied onto all horizontal (sky facing) surfaces. KEIM Soldalit Fixativ was then applied onto all new lime render surfaces to equalise surface porosity.
KEIM Soldalit Grob, a base coat for filling hairline cracks and textural variations, was used onto all render and new lime rendered surfaces.
Two coats KEIM Soldalit-ME were applied to maintain full breathability, durability and unparalleled longevity. KEIM Soldalit-ME is a photocatalytic paint which in addition to the above contains a catalyst which will help to remove air pollutants, such as Nitrogen Oxides, from the air and help degrade dirt and algae spores on the render surface.
Comments from Anton:
“A real standout refurbishment of the main facade using KEIM products.
The fantastic results were only possible with the collaboration and teamwork of the main contractor, Paye Stonework Ltd and the decorator, Hugh Anthony Interiors Ltd during our regular site visits.
Thank you to everyone involved for creating such a fantastic finish with KEIM Mineral Paints, it has been a pleasure working with you all on this project.”




















