Thurston Road, Lewisham

Award Criteria

Architectural Excellence

Situated within Lewisham town centre regeneration masterplan, Thurston Road, Lewisham is a high-quality mixed-use development delivering 611 bed spaces across two 12 storey blocks. The scheme provided a new streetscape, character and activity within a rapidly changing town centre. A feeling of space was created by adding a double height colonnade and raising the ground floor. New green landscape zones softened the buildings placement. The unique setting of the site, with the railway line on one side and a major road on the other, surrounded by tall buildings required an innovative construction methodology. Using the Vision Volumetric System resulted in a 50% uplift in bed spaces from the planning application, and was delivered and erected in just three months creating real benefits in sustainability and environmental terms, with reduced lorry movements and fewer trades on site each lessening the impact on the local area and the community. The building achieved BREEAM Excellent rating.

Technical Innovation & Sustainability

The ground floor in Thurston Road is an open plan layout with a double height colonnade to the street. The use of the open plan layout is typical for student accommodation projects where the requirements for a reception area, recreation room and communal living space are essential. To accommodate this, a split level concrete transfer structure was used to support the modules on level 1 and 2, with the street side being 2 storey to accommodate a change in level to suit the slope across the site. The modules on level 1 were designed as varying height modules so that they could be partially slotted under the transfer structure at the lower end, with the modules at the higher end matching the top of the transfer structure to support the modules above. The modules on level 2 were supported across both the modules and transfer structure, which achieves the required speed and quality, while also providing the flexibility of layout not normally associated with modular construction.

Cost Effectiveness

The Vision Volumetric System was chosen as the central construction method for this project due it's high level of finishes, significantly reduced level of construction defects, its faster construction program and guaranteed delivery date. Considering that this development is a student accommodation development, the date of handover was a critical factor for the project. The use of volumetric modular construction ensured that the project was completed before August 2016 which enabled student occupation for the 2016/2017 academic year. The total construction program of 11 months was faster than traditional construction, allowing for the client to take ownership 1 year earlier, thus getting an earlier return on investment. Coupled with this the high level of finishes and reduced construction defects lead to lower operating costs for the building for the client.