Shaa Road

Residents benefit from tranquil shared gardens, riverside walks along the River Wandle, shops, restaurants, a craft brewery and heritage centre. The transformation of the former brewery into an urban quarter required the architect to seamlessly integrate ten stylish new residential blocks with the refurbishment and conservation of 11 iconic Grade II listed buildings. These included the five storey Brewhouse and Tower, the former Brewer’s House and the Grade II Brewery Tap.

The inclusion of the apex was an important element of the design, ensuring the development was in keeping with the existing gable-front properties on the street. IG designed an off-site solution to span the 3269mm opening, carefully considering the installation process to minimise the time period contractors were working at heights.

IG received a consignment of the Wienerberger Downton Red brick type to ensure the off-site installation blended seamlessly with brickwork constructed on-site. The lintel section is 515mm in height, which equates to seven courses of brick bonded in a stretcher-bond pattern. The lintel also required a three course deep brick soffit to accommodate the recessed opening below and ensure that no structural steel was visible once built-in.

The prefabricated brick slip apex lintels were delivered to site and simply lifted into position using a crane.

The end bearing plates of the apex were built into the brickwork below, ensuring the installation was level and suitably bedded into mortar. Tapered brickwork was then built above the end bearing to fill the wedged section and facilitate a smooth transition into the apex.

The mortar joints between brick slips were then pointed to ensure the seamless integration of the prefabricated component. A stone coping provided the perfect finishing touch to the apex arches.

Mechanical fixings were required in order to secure the stone to the sloped steel lintel. IG designed a number of small angles to be tech screwed into the backing steel of the brick slip lintel, securing the coping via a dowel restraint into the stone. The effective combination of onsite and offsite building techniques demonstrates the benefits of modern building methods, streamlining the process and enabling quick assembly on site.