The second phase of the Lakeshore retrofit project was the ‘Copper Building’. Alongside the existing building, a new build linear ‘sister’ building was constructed with a copper cladding, perpendicular to Imperial House on the northern boundary. This site had previously been occupied by a CorTen clad factory building and provided a physical and visual buffer maximising the parkland setting. Reinstating a building in this location reinforced the enclosure of the parkland, addressed the retail park beyond.
This scheme provides 136 apartments on four levels over existing 3 levels of under-croft car parking.
Urban Splash had set a very challenging environmental brief for the team delivering Phase 1. Phase 2 was able to take advantage of ground source heating and cooling infrastructure however it also needed to be designed and delivered to be an equally low energy scheme to Lakeshore Phase 1.
The new build scheme was designed from first principles to achieve a low energy scheme. Its simple form was structurally economic with a ‘low-form factor’ achieved by reducing its external surface area relative to internal floor area. All apartments are designed with individual mechanical heat-recovery ventilation serving bathrooms and kitchens. This innovative, low-energy form of ventilation warms incoming fresh air from the extracted air from the apartment, enabling the normal trickle vents to be omitted from the windows and reducing heat demand by more than 50% while maintaining air quality.
The design of phase two prioritised the creation of south-facing apartments and lake views. Balconies and shading were designed to be the full width of apartments, accessed by sliding glazed doors. The top floor apartments had an innovative section to provide a dual-aspect duplex. This further maximised the number of south-facing apartments with open plan living spaces benefiting from large amounts of natural light and stunning views across the lake.
The use of CorTen for the exterior cladding provided continuity with the material palette of the original buildings and provided a robust maintenance-free finish. Timber linings were used within balcony areas and internal common circulation areas. Several different Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) strategies were reviewed for this project before the final construction strategy was finalised. A full volumetric system was considered as well as a CLT structural system.
The whole project is a model for best practice in the approach and delivery of environmental sustainability: Retrofitting redundant commercial office space, ‘fabric first’ approach to new build and retrofit, investment in renewables infrastructure for phase 1 & phase 2, priority given to the preservation and enhancement of the site’s mature landscaping and biodiversity and exploration of MMC for Phase 2.
