Willen House
Shoreditch, London
Residential (student accommodation)
70,000 sqft
RIBA Stage 4
Infrastructure Investments Ltd
PROJECT TEAM
Main Contractor: RED Construction Group
Architect: ECE Westworks
Project Manager: Gleeds
Structural Engineer: Walsh
Building Services Engineer: OneMEP, Futureserv
OUR SCOPE ON THIS PORJECT
- Design management
- Multidisciplinary design coordination
- Technical design solutions including bespoke and remedial details
- Fire safety and regulatory compliance
- Building Safety Act and Golden Thread management
- Fire testing strategy and Engineering Judgements coordination
- Building Control and stakeholder liaison
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Willen House is a major refurbishment and structural alterations project located in a conservation area of Shoreditch. The existing six-storey building has been increased to eight storeys and wrapped in a new high-performance façade of glazing and glass-reinforced concrete (GRC), increasing the gross internal area from 47,000 to more than 70,000sqft.
The building provides 223 luxury self-contained student units across seven floors, with communal space at basement level.
The building was designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.
OUR ROLE
We were appointed by RED Construction Group to lead the design from RIBA Stage 5 through to Practical Completion. Alongside coordinating the multidisciplinary design team, we developed the technical solutions, produced construction and remedial detail drawings, authored the key compliance documentation and led the resolution of the project’s most complex fire and regulatory issues.
- Led the strategic and technical design management role from Stage 5, coordinating the multidisciplinary team through to Practical Completion.
- Provided technical leadership across complex fire, architectural and regulatory compliance, developing bespoke design solutions and construction details.
- Developed and maintained the Golden Thread, keeping a robust, auditable record of design intent, construction evidence and compliance.
- Prepared the Fire Safety Information Pack, including the Fire Safety Index and compliance narrative that set out the project’s route to demonstrating fire safety, including the basis of compliance, engineering justifications, testing strategies and the evidence supporting non-standard or remedial solutions.
- Set the strategy for fire resistance testing where construction defects or design deviations were identified and developed the remedial details.
- Coordinated Engineering Judgements, fire testing, statutory verification and specialist technical assessments to substantiate compliance where design changes, construction deviations or enhanced regulatory requirements arose during the project.
THE VALUE WE ADDED
- A defensible compliance position. By owning the Golden Thread and the Fire Safety Information Pack, we provided a clear, auditable route to Building Safety Act compliance.
- Kept the programme moving. Complex fire and regulatory issues were resolved at pace, so technical uncertainty did not hold up Practical Completion.
- Problems turned into evidence. Where defects or deviations emerged on site, we set the testing strategy and engineered the remedial details, replacing risk with substantiated solutions.
- A single point of technical accountability. As an integrated member of the contractor’s team, we acted as the principal technical interface between the client, design team, subcontractors, testing laboratories and Building Control.
- Senior expertise from start to finish. Our Senior Design Manager provided hands-on technical design expertise, delivering practical solutions to complex challenges.
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