Shepherdess Walk
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Shepherdess Walk, with the terrace on the left
Helene Binet Download Original
For this new-build residential project in London, two buildings are faced in long-format Belgian brick. The scheme comprises a terrace of three houses and five flats.
Various structural options were explored with the team during the early stages of design to form the split-level floorplates, including cross-laminated timber, timber frame, precast concrete, steel framing and in-situ concrete. After consideration of the pros and cons, an in-situ concrete frame was chosen for the flats in order to satisfy the various detailing requirements and to meet the disproportionate collapse regulations. The chosen solution for the terraced houses is a hybrid solution of traditional load-bearing masonry, steel framing up the spine, and timber-joisted floors throughout.
Because of the site’s historic uses, there was up to 4m of made ground as well as various obstructions from Victorian basements and more-recent deep concrete foundations to overcome. In order to avoid mass excavation down to the natural gravels, a piled solution was chosen for both the houses and flats, which proved successful as well as flexible enough to overcome some of the obstructions found during pile probing.
The outer skin is formed using 75mm-thick Belgian bricks, and omits movement joints to present a clean uniform facade on all sides. Careful detailing was also required throughout for the precast copings, brass balustrades and the deep reveals, which are highly visible and an important external feature.
Data
- Begun: Jan 2014
- Completed: Nov 2015
- Floor area: 1,250m2
- Sector: Residential
- Total cost: £4.2M
- Procurement: JCT contract
- Address: Shepherdess Walk, London, N1 7NJ, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Jaccaud Zein Architects
- Project architects: Diogo Fonseca Lopes, Fanny Noel, Jean-Paul Jaccaud, Marco Ferrari, Stephan Gratzer, Tanya Zein
- Client: Solidspace
- Developer: Solidspace
- Quantity surveyor: Measur
- Contract administrator: Measur
- Planning consultant : AZ Urban Studio
- Main Contractor : Rooff
- Landscape Designer : Forum Landscape
- CAD software used: Vectorworks
- Structural engineer : Conisbee