SOCIAL HOUSING

Project: Fair Street, London

Client: Engie

Fair Street is situated in South East London in Southwark.

Devon Mansions comprises five separate, six-storey mansion blocks, all built in a near identical style. Blocks 14-21 have pitched roofs, whereas blocks 1-13 have flat roofs.

The buildings are of yellow brick, with a repetitive pattern of domestic scale sash windows organised within a simple arrangement of string courses and cornices, providing balancing vertical elements with splayed windows and stone quoins. Interest at street level comes from street railings that protect half basements and the main entrances to the buildings.

On 29 December 1940, in one of the most devastating bombing raids of the Blitz, German planes attacked the City of London with incendiaries and high-explosive bombs, causing what has been called The Second Great Fire of London.

During this raid, a high explosive bomb landed on Building 3 of Devon Mansions, destroying a 20-metre section of the building between Blocks 12 and 13. According to the Civilian War Dead Register of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, three residents were killed by the blast.

The damaged section was repaired in full in 1950 – however it is still possible to see the site of the bomb impact, as the brick used to repair the building is of slightly darker colour than its surroundings. A plaque also commemorating the event is also visible at street level. 

Scope of works:

  • Survey and restoration to eight blocks including specialist cleaning, stucco and stone restoration

Project: Four Squares Estate, Bermondsey, London

Client: Keepmoat

The Four Squares Estate (New Place Estate) consists of 691 homes within four near identical blocks, built between 1971- 1975. The estate is located between Southwark Park Road and Drummond Road, Bermondsey.

Barwin were appointed by the London Borough of Southwark to work closely with Keepmoat and council tenants to deliver planned maintenance services across the estate. This is a very complex project and arguably one of the largest concrete repair projects in the UK.

The scope of works involved concrete testing, repairs, cleaning and application of anti-carbonation coatings to approximately 100000 sq. m of concrete (including car parks), which act as a barrier to further carbonation to enhance the durability of the concrete allowing a maintenance regime to be scheduled every ten years. Additionally, the coating provides an aesthetic exterior that improves the general appearance of the previously uncoated surfaces on the Four Squares Estate. Barwin are working to strict method statements to ensure that works are carried out in a safe manner and cause minimal disruption to the tenants.

Project: Tustin Estate, Bermondsey, London

Client: Engie

The Tustin Estate is located to the north of the Old Kent Road and west of Ilderton Road. It’s made up of three towers and six low rise blocks, Pilgrims Way Primary School and a number of businesses fronting onto Old Kent Road.

Scope of works: Hydrodemolition to sensitive areas

The main reasons for selecting hydrodemolition as a method of removal is that the steel reinforcement remains intact, vibration is also eliminated meaning that areas requiring sensitive removal can be carried out safely.

The main benefit of hydrodemolition is that it’s a vibration free process of hydro blasting causing minimal disruption to residents/office workers, however the process is very noisy but sound attenuation is possible and has been used successfully in residential areas in the past.

The remaining structure suffers no cracking, reinforced steel is left undamaged and the concrete retains its original integrity by water jet, making this technique ideal for repair contracts.

Hydrodemolition removes a layer of concrete by shooting a jet of high pressure water into the material. When the water fills the natural cavities in the concrete, it bursts from within, exploding upwards. The result is a rough surface, free from micro-cracks, ready for a new layer of fresh concrete. It also leaves the reinforcement bars completely intact.

Project: Vauxhall Gardens Estate, London

Client: Engie

Description:

Residential – social housing. 1960s concrete and brick building.

Scope of works: 

  • Paint removal to concrete
  • Concrete repairs
  • Brick replacement
  • Pointing to brickwork
  • Formation of expansion joints
  • Specialist coating to the concrete
  • Grit blasting: G blast super Grit

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial