Opal 4, Tufnell Park, London
We were commissioned to design a new residential building to accommodate 555 students and key workers, consisting of a mix of cluster flats and studio rooms. The brief also included the refurbishment of an existing Halls of Residence for a further 145 one bed studios. The development is part of a significant investment intended to provide modern en suite accommodation for students and key workers in Islington.
To improve timescales and make good use of budget, we used pre-fabricated bathroom pods, created in a controlled environment and cutting down significantly on construction time and making a real cost saving for our client.
Value engineering was key - as part of that we've made a significant impact on costs by reducing the need for beams. The overall impact of that is that we've saved the equivalent of a storey on the overall height of the building.
We worked as a team with the contractor to explore and select materials - we're utilising a pre-cast concrete frame solution for the ten storey structure, with full modularisation of the layout wherever possible.