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Can innovative housebuilding techniques deliver? Berkeley First has answered that question with The Paragon in west London. It has applied modular prefabricated construction technology to build the largest innovatively constructed community in London, in a series of eight buildings up to 17 storeys high.
The team behind this paragon of build innovation is made up of Carey Jones Architects and developer Berkeley First working in partnership with clients, Thames Valley University and Presentation Housing Association. The scheme is a mix of 839 student rooms, 221 apartments for rent and shared ownership, 130,000sq ft of academic facilities for Thames Valley University and 3,000sq ft of retail space.
The modular units were manufactured off-site as fully furnished rooms under factory controlled conditions, then delivered to site and put into place around the buildings’ concrete cores. Modular construction allowed the scheme to be delivered rapidly in time for the start of the academic year on a severely constrained site, flanked by a school and a major road flyover. The build programme was 14 months shorter than an equivalent scheme built using traditional methods.
These colourful complementary buildings have a vitality that matches that of their youthful student occupants. For 12 years this corner of west London lay empty and abandoned, because the site was considered unviable; now it has a lust for life.
ARCHITECT:
Carey Jones Architects
Address: Victoria House
37 Southampton Row
Bloomsbury
London
WC1B 4EA
Tel: 020 7269 9400
Fax: 020 7269 9401
Website: www.careyjones.co.uk
HOMEBUILDER:
Berkeley First
Address: Berkeley House
19 Portsmouth Road
Cobham
Surrey
KT11 1JG
Tel: 01932 584555
Fax: 01932 584550
Website: www.berkeleyfirst.co.uk
