London Road: St Albans

London Road is a new private development in St Albans, comprising 11 flats over 4 storeys, typified by stepped elevations and inset levels. 

An RC frame was selected to allow the structure to closely follow the architectural profile. An economic grid layout and efficient structural design allowed levels of reinforcement in the slabs to be significantly lower than what is typically used for this form of construction.

Restrictive planning heights, tight site boundaries and variable ground conditions also led to the design of a sunken ground floor level supported on piles. An efficient ground beam grillage was adopted in lieu of more conventional pile caps to again improve efficiency and save on material usage.

The upper inset storey was designed in load bearing lightweight metal framing to reduce loading onto the transfer slab and offset column grid below. Allowing the combination of load bearing metal framing with non-structural infill used elsewhere into a single contractor package, yielded significant savings and efficiencies for the contractor and client. 

Corbett and Tasker also undertook an extensive 3D modelling exercise of the in situ concrete staircase. This helped ensure that the challenging concrete outlines planned were rational, readily constructible and satisfied all geometric criteria such as minimum head height.

Working with: SADA Architects