Marchant House, Lambeth

Client: Presentation Housing Association

Role: Architecture & Environmental Services

This project included the refurbishment of an existing 7 storey residential block, demolition of 2 similar blocks and construction of new flat blocks and houses. The works also included external and landscape improvements to the estate.

The site is highly accessible and is served by a number of bus routes and by the Victoria tube line at the nearby Brixton Underground Station. The masterplan increased the residential density, improved legibility of the layout and security and introduced social sustainability through mixed tenure ownership. The project was delivered through three phases that has created an attractive new environment.

The existing seven storey residential block was a 1960s medium rise block that was substandard in terms of its thermal performance. Whilst the external windows had been replaced within the previous ten years, the building envelope had little or no insulation, hot water and space heating was by means of inefficient electric fsystems. The block was also substandard in terms of safety and security.

The completed block now includes a secure entrance at ground level, high quality finishes in common areas, insulated dry lining to long elevations, rendered overcladding to gable walls and render to all four sides of the circulation tower. New ‘wintergardens’ add to the living rooms of each flat and provide extra space for the residents. Other improvements include renewed roof coverings with enhanced insulation, a new efficient heating system as well as the installation of photovoltaic panels on roof which supply some of the electricity requirements for the common areas. The high levels of insulation to the external envelope; floors, roofs and external walls, have made the flats comfortable and much cheaper to heat, reducing the residents’ fuel bills by up to £190 per year. The end result is the addition of an attractive building and improved the overall estate.

The Key Worker Housing which was also part of the overall project was awarded ‘Low energy sustainable building of the year’ in Building’s Sustainability Awards 2006.