easyHotel Oxford

Completed in November 2021, the impressive project required a full layout of custom brick slip systems along with masonry support and lintels to be able to achieve the architect’s unique design vision which featured distinctive brick bond patterns and bay-type windows.

Carefully designed to enhance the local landscape, the £10M multi-use development offers a 180-bed budget hotel, a ground floor restaurant, retail space, and upper-floor apartments, providing much-needed high-quality affordable accommodation in this world-renowned city, known for its prestigious university and convenient access to major UK cities. The hotel occupies the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors, while the ground floor is dedicated to retail spaces, creating a welcoming public area in front of the building.

IG Masonry Support was tasked with the important responsibility of providing structural support and ensuring safety for the unique architectural design of the building, which included varying sizes of bay windows and a distinctive brick bond pattern. When brickwork contractor, Acheson Construction, sought a solution for this complex challenge, they turned to IG Masonry Support as it was the only support capable of delivering a comprehensive and expert solution in the form of complete B.O.S.S. enclosures and masonry support systems that were not only prefabricated but also delivered to site, ready for easy installation.

Four different types of bay windows, each one varying in size, and an increasingly popular corbelled outset design provided an obstacle for IG Masonry Support on this project, as repetition was not possible. It meant a number of bespoke solutions had to be designed.

IG Masonry Support provided its clients with a comprehensive package of efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective masonry support systems, offering a one-stop-shop solution. IG Masonry Support’s design services ensured its products blended seamlessly with other suppliers’ products, making installation easy and efficient for the client. Furthermore, the project allowed IG Masonry Support to develop a future solution for stacking vertical bay-type surrounds, which will be replicated on future projects. The company’s bespoke service also helped the clients save costs by eliminating the need for masonry support at specific levels of the building.

IG Masonry Support not only provided high-quality products but also full technical support from conception to installation, ensuring no construction or installation concerns arose. By using off-site prefabrication and conducting brick cutting in its own manufacturing facilities, the project was developed with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind, aiming to achieve a BREEAM Very Good rating.

easyHotel Oxford serves as an example of how IG Masonry Support’s expert technical, engineering, and design techniques, coupled with innovative structural products, can help achieve any design vision and enhance spaces and communities.