engineering.
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The Glebe.

Set within easy reach of the King’s Road in Chelsea on the site of a disused school, The Glebe boasts a desirable private address in the heart of London. Its seven dwellings, a mixture of converted apartments and two spacious new-build villas, will provide stiff competition for some of the city’s most luxurious developments.

Apartments and spacious new-build villas in the conversion of a Chelsea school

Location
London, UK
Client
Orion Land & Leisure
Architect
Formation Architects
Project Value
confidential
Floor Area
11,610 m²
Status
completed 2020
Expertise
Structures

Upon purchase, the site comprised a five-storey school building with small basement dating back to the early 20th century. To support good relations with neighbours, the masonry façade of the structure needed to be retained, contrasting the modern architecture of the new villas.

The majority of external walls are maintained on a temporary basis using flying shores and horizontal trusses. Once a central core is in place it provides restraint to a system of horizontal bracing, which is used until support can be provided by the concrete frame. Above the third floor the form becomes more intricate and any concrete columns would be offset from the floors below; here we specified steel frame with concrete floors.

Top-down construction, utilising perimeter embedded retaining walls and plunge columns from ground floor level, was chosen for the two-storey basement, allowing the substructure and superstructure to be built simultaneously. This creates a challenge since the retained façade has to remain unaffected by any works below, so sequencing was important to avoid complications.

Steel is more lightweight, and thus we can minimise the load transferring into the basement and foundations below, and reduce the thickness of the third-floor slab. In tower locations, mezzanine levels are introduced both above and below the first floor slabs; all three levels are supported using RC wall-beams. The renovated main roof comprises a moment frame with secondary trusses attached. Where towers extend further vertically, mansard roofs have been designed, supported by portal frames located at four sides of the tower.

 

Two
Manhattan
West
Lobby
'Radiant Lines'
installation
 
 
A Brick for Venice thumbnailA Brick
for Venice.
 
 
One
Gosvenor
Square
 
Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities thumbnailThe Stephen A. Schwarzman
Centre for the Humanities
 
 
Albert Bridge House thumbnailAlbert Bridge House.
 
 
 
Edgar's Sheds thumbnailEdgar's
Sheds.
 
 
Luton     Power Court
Stadium.
 
 
Wide shot of St Pancras Campus on site with facade installation complete.St Pancras
Campus.
 
 
Wind Sculpture
(TG) I
 
 
Sentosa
Sensoryscape.
 
 
The
Beacon.
 
 
Liverpool
School of
Architecture.
 
Georges Malaika
Foundation School.
 
 
Cherry
Groce
Memorial.
 
Khudi
Bari.
 
 
Haus Gables thumbnailHaus
Gables.
 
 
10   Lewis
Cubitt
Square.
 
'Drift'
footbridge.
 
 
The Gaumont ThumbnailThe
Gaumont.
 
 
5448_N8_hdSeratech
 
 
 
4926_HiRes_rendering_N7_hdApex
1.
 
 
5008_highRes_image_N3_hdUCB
Headquarters
Campus.
 
Manor    Road
Quarter.
 
 
17 Charterhouse
Street.
 
 
Brent Cross
Plot 15.
 
 
100-West-Cromwell-Road-thumbnail100
West Cromwell
Road.
 
Brent Cross
Plot 25.
 
 
Chapter
London
Bridge.
 
Roatan
Prospera.