Editor’s Choice

editor's choice KEYLITE RAISE THE (SMART)ROOF AT CITYGLADES

Boasting innovative technology and open-plan living, property developer This Land was looking to explore modern methods of construction to help create affordable, well-constructed, sustainable homes, built in the most efficient construction timeframe.

To help achieve this, This Land sought out a fast-tracked roof system from Smartroof that would allow an additional useable room in the roof space.

The Smartroof system is designed to maximise floor space by creating rooms in a roof, whilst maintaining efficiency and sustainability standards. This particular development required a system comprising of a series of factory-produced panels, which incorporated insulated roof panels, spandrel wall panels, dormers, dummy chimneys, soffit, fascia, and 68 Keylite roof windows in total.

Jonny Cox, National Sales Manager at Smartroof, worked closely with both This Land and Keylite

Nestled in between the beautiful Ditton Meadows and Cambridge city centre, Cityglades is an intimate development of just fourteen two, three, and fourbedroom homes.

Roof Windows (Keylite) to ensure each aspect of the roofing system reflected the developer’s vision: “Sustainability and modern methods of construction were two huge drivers for this project. It was important for us to ensure our roofing system and everything in it reflected these factors by prioritising thermal efficiency and modular construction methods.

“The Smartroof system is built in a series of panels at our factories, delivered to site and craned into place. Once situated, the roof simply requires tiling, which means we’re able to reduce waste, provide better control of quality, and deliver rapid construction time. “We needed to bring some natural light into the roof rooms but required roof windows that wouldn’t compromise the thermal efficiency of the build, which is one area we knew we could trust Keylite to deliver.

“We used 68 Keylite thermal glazed centre pivot windows in the 11 properties we worked on to make sure any heat lost through the windows would be minimal.

“Cost savings and operational efficiency were two big reasons for choosing Keylite as our roof window supplier, but it was its expanding thermal collar that made Keylite the perfect fit for this project.”

One of the biggest culprits for heat loss in roof windows is not double glazing like many believe, but it’s actually what happens in the cap between the frame and the roof. Keylite is the only roof window manufacturer to take full responsibility for ensuring this thermal gap is filled with its Integrated Expanding Thermal Collar – something that is unique to Keylite and comes as standard on all of its roof windows.

Jonny continues: “The expanding thermal collar completely took away any stress and extra cost around making sure our roofs would be compliant and thermally efficient. Keylite felt like a perfect fit for this project, ticking all the boxes when it came to sustainability, efficiency and aesthetics.”

Being a modern development, Cityglades offers homes with dynamic specifications. This Land’s forward-thinking ‘No Gas’ policy means air source heat pumps were employed, providing underfloor heating for each floor. The houses also make use of vapour control, triple glazing, intelligent controls, sustainable drainage and much more, with communal green spaces ensuring Cityglades is a community for future generations.

For more information about Keylite Roof Windows, please visit www.keyliteroofwindows.com, call 01283 200 158 or email info@keyliteuk.com.

RESTORING HISTORY: CORDIA BLACKSWAN COMPLETES HERITAGE REDEVELOPMENT

Cordia Blackswan has restored a piece of Jewellery Quarter history with the completion of phase one of its heritage development, The Gothic.

Occupying a 0.5-acre site at 1-4 Great Hampton Street, The Gothic provides 14 high-quality apartments and duplexes of one, two and three bedrooms.

The scheme is being delivered across three phases totalling 50 apartments, and phase one is now complete. Having obtained an occupancy permit, the first owners at The Gothic are ready to move in, and the show apartment is finished.

Cordia Blackswan is passionate about the Jewellery Quarter and its rich heritage and has experience in working with listed and heritage buildings. The developer is owned by European company Cordia Group, who are well known for their urban regeneration projects across the continent, such as the Corvin Quarter in Budapest.

The developer has retained and enhanced the original Victorian-era features of the building, including traditional cornicing, beams, and windows, finished with contemporary fittings.

Working alongside the Conservation Officer at Birmingham City Council and a specialist joinery company based in the Black Country, Cordia Blackswan has installed like-for-like windows to retain the authentic appearance of The Gothic. The windows have been replaced across the four buildings that make up phase one, bringing the thermal and acoustic performance of the development up to modern standards.

The original exterior features of the building have also been restored, including the original turret to its Gothic-style glory. Cordia Blackswan has also worked closely with Edgbaston-based stone masons William Parratt to peel away half a century’s worth of paint and expose the original brickwork hiding underneath.

Over the years, The Gothic has been home to many Jewellery Quarter landmarks, including The Gothic Inn, Gothic Stores and the Gothic Works. For the best part of 50 years, the ground floor facades at The Gothic had been painted many times, in various colours. Some of the building’s features date back as far as 1870.

Marcus Hawley, Managing Director of Cordia Blackswan, said: “It is brilliant to see our long-awaited vision for The Gothic come to life, with works now complete on phase one. The creation of 14 elegant and unique apartments will meet the needs of modern residents who are looking for quirky high-quality living space in a prime city location.

“The offering at The Gothic does not stop at residential, we’re pleased to work alongside Griffley Property who

BEARD COMPLETES STUNNING RESTORATION OF UK’S OLDEST LIDO

Beard Construction has completed a meticulous £6.2m restoration of Cleveland Pools in Bath, the UK’s oldest lido.

As well as calling on Beard’s expertise in heritage restoration, the 15-month project to restore the decaying, 207-year-old Georgian site to its former glory had significant logistical challenges – as all plant and materials could only be brought to the site by boat on the adjacent River Avon. Machinery, building materials, equipment and everything else required to carry out the major refurbishment work on the Grade II* listed site was loaded up at the nearby Avon Rugby Club, which was used as a base, and carried up-river by barge. The barge was limited to carrying five tonnes of material per trip and made about six trips a day -navigating around everything from pleasure craft to the canoeists and kayakers who shared the river.

The work saw the creation of a new crescent-shaped waterproof concrete main pool within the footprint of the original, listed redbrick pool, which was preserved beneath it. Work began with the draining of the existing pool, followed by the installation of a system of drainage crates to allow natural spring water to continue to flow into the listed pool and around the shell of the new one.

The existing children’s pool walls were temporarily held in place while the team excavated out the base to construct the waterproof, below-ground plantroom which is now home to the pool filtration equipment, along with hi-spec water source heat pumps which will be used to heat the pool water. A refreshment kiosk and seating area is now housed above the plantroom.

Curving around one length, the original Georgian changing rooms and a central cottage with archway were made structurally safe, restored, stripped of centuries of paint back to their original Bath stone and re-roofed in Welsh slate – some of which was reclaimed from the original roofs.

New terrace seating was also added, as well as a new toilet and shower block. Outdoor chrome showers also flank both pools. As well as allowing for access, water from the river will feed the water source heat pumps, providing the Pools with a sustainable heating solution when the pool fully re-opens to the public in spring next year and heating the pool to 28 degrees centigrade.

The pool is now ready to welcome its first swimmers. Hundreds entered a competition to be the first to swim and the winning 100 will do so on Saturday, September 10 – from when the pool will be open to the public for a preview, cold-water season.

The restoration is the culmination of an extraordinary 18-year community campaign by the Cleveland Pools Trust, supported by thousands of Bathonians.

The trust’s tireless campaign has taken the 207-yearold, Grade II* listed site from the lows of its closure in 1984 and a threat of demolition in 2003, to the highs of its stunning, present-day restoration.

The overall cost of the project is £9.3m, £6.47m of which came from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project has also had significant support from the DCMS Capital Kickstart Fund, Historic England and Bath and North East Somerset Council. Bath-based architectural practice Donald Insall Associates were lead designers on the project with Hydrock carrying out the structural design.

The restoration has been led by project director Anna Baker, a chartered architect who specialises in historic buildings.

Anna said: “I am proud to have played a part in a restoration that many didn’t believe was possible. It’s been complex and very challenging. But it’s also been unique, the project of a lifetime.

“We are a small project team and could not have done it without the help of our hundreds of volunteers. It’s been a real privilege to work on such a community-driven undertaking.

“I’ve especially enjoyed taking this from a community heritage scheme to a project which engages with wellbeing, culture, sustainable energy and the natural environment.”

Beard’s project manager Mark Tregelles added: “This has been a rare opportunity to restore a heritage building to its original use. Although logistically challenging, the overriding theme of this project has been collaboration. Working together with Anna, her team, volunteers and local residents has meant that no problem has been insurmountable.

“Having access only by river has really tested our initiative, not only getting materials in and out of the project but also in the method of construction, given the limited plant and equipment that we could get to the site. Overall, it has been an honour to breathe new life into an historic landmark which can now be enjoyed for generations to come.”

David Barnes, associate director at Donald Insall Associates, said: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to lead the design team for the restoration of this precious historic outdoor public pool. The restored and updated facilities at Cleveland Pools present a new and exciting chapter for continued enjoyment of this muchloved site that is inescapably part of Bath’s rich bathing heritage”.