Andy Sharlot, chief designer at IG Masonry Support, explains how a mixed use scheme in south London required a high level of detail to achieve an authentic brickwork look that complemented repurposed Victorian structures
The restoration and transformation of Victorian brick railway viaducts and the creation of five new buildings, as part of an award-winning mixed use development adjacent to the historic Borough Market, required an exceptional level of detail and brickwork authenticity. We took on the challenge, playing a crucial role in the provision of a series of innovative brickwork solutions that successfully blend the old with the new, while retaining south London’s Victorian railway heritage.
Built by Wates Group for developer MARK and designed by London-based architect SPPARC, Borough Yards features a number of transformed and repurposed railway arches, viaducts and warehouses along with five new buildings that weave their way from Borough Market to Clink Street. This new shopping and dining district also includes a cinema, art gallery and two new office buildings.
IG Masonry Support worked with brickwork contractor Lesterose, designing and supplying a number of complex prefabricated brickwork elements including welded masonry support (WMS), brick slip masonry support, and its own ‘brick on soffit’ system.
SPPARC created an architectural typology which started from the principle that there should be pedestrian lanes within the block linking the river to the market through a series of connecting yard spaces and streets weaved through a Victorian brick arched railway viaduct.
Marrying old & new
In this key conservation area, the brickwork for the new buildings needed to complement the repurposed viaducts and warehouses’ existing brickwork while presenting a unique character.
To meet these challenging design requirements, we manufactured and supplied a range of prefabricated components that met the wider considerations around planning in this conservation area and all fire regs as well as
Building Regulations.
As part of the complex design for Building Four, for example, the architect and design team required a ‘floating’ brick feature presenting a jagged design. The use of brick slips helped achieve the distinctive angled soffit design, offering a faithfully historic aesthetic in a modern, easy-to-install solution.
The distinctive ‘spearheads’ featured on Building Two were a separate challenge. Installed over the building’s four level points, they were manufactured with glass reinforced concrete between the elements.
Customisable to the architect’s design wishes, the brick slip and masonry support were prefabricated units manufactured offsite and delivered complete with bricks mechanically fixed and bonded to them. Weight and size enabled the spearheads to be installed as one unit directly from a scaffold onsite.
Due to the type of brick being used on buildings two, three and four being of weaker composition, it necessitated pre-pointing the brick slips in dry, controlled conditions to create a high quality, finished surface.
Trevor Morriss, principal at SPPARC explained: “The use of masonry to realise our vision was a fundamental part of our design ethos. It was essential that the new buildings successfully cohabited with the heritage fabric. We wanted to ensure that each of the buildings had its own unique character while also harmonising with the surrounding area.”
Different support solutions for different buildings
The brick support system that was specified facilitated the architect’s vision in relation to each building’s brickwork design – and how this was done is outlined in the following paragraphs.
Building One features a luxury cinema; it required a WMS and brick on soffit system for the head of each window situated at the building’s level. This achieved a floating brick effect, blending seamlessly with the surrounding traditional brickwork with an easy-to-install solution.
Building Two has proved a particular challenge, due to the distance between the point of brickwork and the primary structure. A cantilevered solution was created that featured on the building’s four levels. Each of these ‘spearheads’ were made up of a brick on soffit system bolted to its WMS. Also requiring a solution was the standout cantilevered brick soffit at the front of the building. These prefabricated systems offered a 70% weight-saving against an equivalent concrete product, negating the need for mechanical handling and onsite labour. These benefits proved particularly significant in this mixed-use development.
Building Three was the first – and smallest – building on this development. It featured brick on soffit system bracketry to support the soffits and fix back to the structural steel frame. Brick slip sills also formed the external brick facade, negating the need to build traditional brickwork walls. From street to roof level, the building features interventions utilising brick construction to reference the site’s historic architecture. Being the first building undertaken on the development, a lot of product development was completed, providing a solid foothold for the design and engineering required for the rest of the buildings. The solutions developed for this building were ultimately scaled up to feature on Building Two.
Building Four features a complex structural steel frame, jagged design features were achieved with brick slip masonry Support. This ensured a solution that met the architect’s specific requirements. Due to the complex steel frame, there were many junctions and bolt connections. As a result, brick slip masonry support systems were designed and engineered with two courses of brickwork which easily bolted together and blended seamlessly with the surrounding brickwork.
An integral part of the street scene and conservation area, Borough Yard’s new buildings stand aside the historic viaducts and warehouses. Fully opened in spring 2022, this newly transformed public realm restores and reinvents the area’s lost medieval street pattern, ensuring its status long-term as one of south London’s favourite destinations.
Andy Sharlot is chief designer at IG Masonry Support