384

Social Housing in London

Architects:
Metaphorm London
Joseph Watters, Andrew Tong
Team members:
Henriette Marinescu, Miron Marinescu,
Adrian Beckenham, Beatrice Munby,
Oxana Sytnik
Structural engineer:
Dewhurst Macfariane, Lenden
Others involved in the project: see page 445

The area surrounding Heygate, a residential

housing estate from the 1970s located in the
Eiephant and Castle quarter in London, is
noted for its bad reputation. Its mighty
apartment blocks made of concrete with
deck access and social housing apartments
became mere and more desoiate. The community, impacted by poverty and crime,
struggles with some of the worst sociai
probiems in the city. Revitalisation was urgently necessary. With 1.5 million Pounds of
funding, Heygate will be replaced by a new
urban community centre within the next 15
years, compiete with green spaces, retail,
and most cf ail, social housing. Rcughly
5000 units are planned. For this purpose, a
competition was intended tc provide ideas
for social housing construction for 15 locations. One of these ideas was realised along
Brandon Street. The facade, its coiours
changing from yellow to dark red and
curved tc accommodate four trees, is highiy
visibie frcm afar. After a iong search, the architects discovered the hand-colcured ceramic tile used in this project in France. Its
price is ccmparable tc weed cladding. A reinforced concrete frame serves as structurai
system en the ground level, whiie the upper
floors feature lightweight steel ccnstructicn.
The high degree of prfabrication and the
resulting limited amount cf time required for
instaiiaticn en site and crane service reduced ccnstructicn time and costs. Detaiied
planning and ccordinaticn cf dimensicns cf
the individual coffered elements and the
biack and white benches that fciicw the
facade curve led tc further savings. They
consist cf oniy three different elements convex, straight, and ccncave - and delineate a smail public space. Sustainabiiity
was an important aspect as weil: U-values
cf facades range frcm 0.11 to 0.19 W/m^.
Heat recovery and grey water and rainwater
re-cycling are aIsc included. Apartments
are equipped with light-coloured ficcrs and
wccd-aluminium windows, accessed by
eievatcrs and stairs. They are ccmpiemented by a shared reef terrace, and exceed the
standards cf typical social housing at the
same ccst.

2012 D 4 DETAIl

DETAIL

2012 D 4

Site pian scaie 1:4000

Gross floor area: 1769 m^
Totai gross construction cost: 2,942,000

Section Floor plans

scale 1:400
1 Entrance
2 Living room
3 Room
4 Utilities
5 Bicycle room
6 Waste room
7 Courtyard
8 Terrace
9 Roof terrace

Documentation

385

386

Social Housing in London

2012 D 4

DETAIL

DETAIL

2012 G 4

Horizontal section
Vertical sections
scale 1:20

10 mm ceramic tile,
hand-coloured
8 mm cement-based adhesive
15 mm render
103 mm brick
stainless steel tie
50 mm ventilated cavity
2x 15 mm gypsum board
25/25 mm wood batten
vapour barrier
136 mm lightweight panei,
prefabricated:
8 mm magnesium board
iight gauge steel framing
45/42 mm wood batten
120 mm thermal insulation
8 mm magnesium board
building wrap
10 mm render
120 mm thermai insuiation
12.5 mm cement fibre board
aluminium framing
20 mm drained cavity
4 mm toughened glass +
14 mm cavity, argon fill +
7 mm laminated safety glass in
wood-aluminium frame
210/103/50 mm masonry brick
stainless steel tie
50 mm drained cavity
450/450/45 concrete paver
stainless steel spacer,
height adjustable
10 mm protection board
seaiant layer
125-225 mm insulation to falls
vapour barrier
20 mm waterproof plywood
40 mm insulation
250 mm iight gauge steel cassette
prefabricated
2x 15 mm gypsum board
framing
2 mm linoleum
20 mm dry fioor screed panei
45 mm system panei,
underfloor heating
8 mm impact sound insulation
2 mm linoieum
75 mm screed; separation iayer
110 mm thermal insulation
sealant layer
250 mm reinforced concrete
bench, precast concrete,
black/white paint finish
10 6.5 mm toughened glass,
enamelled, aluminium frame
11 15 mm gypsum board,
moisture-resistant
90 mm thermal insulation
250 mm reinforced concrete

Documentation

387

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