HEADLINES
17-storey office block converted into an 18-storey residential development
Overcame busy London logistics to provide building services to 182 apartments
Worked around pedestrians in a high footfall location
Late out of core hours working to minimise disruption
Bespoke stainless steel pipework risers manufactured off-site by G&H Fabrication saved time and increased safety
| Project Title | Britannia Point (London) |
| Client | Criterion Capital |
| Location | Colliers Wood, London |
| Contractor | JJ Rhatigan |
| Value | £26 million (overall development value) |
| Duration | 60 weeks |
OVERVIEW
Constructed in 1966 and first named the Lyon Tower and then The Vortex, the building became known as the Brown & Root Tower after the American engineering firm Brown & Root Halliburton occupied it between 1971 to 1995.
Criterion Capital appointed JJ Rhatigan as the main contractor to transform the dilapidated, disused office into a modern residential development with street level shops.
An unloved office block, Colliers Wood Tower was of such historical notoriety that it was judged to be London’s ugliest building in a BBC poll.
The scheme also saw an additional floor increase the building to 18 storeys with a further 68 apartments added on the north side of the site taking the total to 182.
As part of the mechanical and electrical contract, we designed and installed heating, power distribution, fire alarms, heat recovery ventilation and domestic services.
A central plant room provides a district heating system that feeds individual heat interface units in each of the one and two-bed properties.
CHALLENGE
This was a complex scheme with new building services installed into an existing structure that was being remodelled.
It was technically a very challenging scheme due to the shallow ceiling voids that meant we had little space to work with when installing services. To overcome this, we considered alternative routes to feed services and sourced the most suitable equipment and products to save space wherever possible.
Furthermore, the 182 rooms over 18-storeys could only be accessed via staircases making the transporting of materials and equipment very labour intensive, thus requiring excellent planning to ensure deliveries were made when needed.
Careful health and safety consideration was needed due to the number of pedestrians at ground level given its busy location opposite Colliers Wood tube station.
SOLUTION
G&H Fabrication manufactured bespoke stainless steel pipework risers off-site in its specialist welding facility and delivered to site at the precise time they were needed.
To minimise disruption, we regularly organised for large equipment to be delivered out of core hours and subsequently worked late to install.
RESULTS
The transformation is dramatic.
Once a blot on the landscape, Colliers Wood Tower is now known as Britannia Point; a modern and stylish glass-clad residential development inspired by the Chicago School architecture movement with residents enjoying high quality heating, lighting and electrical systems.
