oday the site is home to not one but two very different new buildings for which NHP and Paul Brookes Architects drew up the original detailed plans and specifications and secured planning permission from the Royal Borough of Kingston Council back in 2008. Despite the different styles of architecture the development has a cohesive appearance because both buildings have been clad using the same Sureclad ceramic granite ventilated cladding system supplied by Shackerley.
The planners had originally wanted NHP to use white render and Canadian Red Cedar cladding across the project, but the developer was keen to ensure that the high quality appearance of the development would be retained in the long term. In consultation with the Council, NHP chose to specify Shackerley’s system instead, specifying that the external facades of both developments should be constructed using exactly the same combination of large format premium quality ceramic granite panels, produced to give the appearance of limestone and natural oak.
On the south of the site is Kingston Heights, a mixed-use development comprising 137 residential units together with an upmarket 142-bedroom hotel with meeting, banqueting and conference facilities. This complex has been constructed for NHP by main contractor United House and includes 81 private apartments (pre-sold to Redrow London) and 56 affordable homes which are being managed by Affinity Sutton, one of the largest providers of affordable housing in England. The scheme incorporates a ground breaking district heating scheme which has won numerous environmental awards. Abstracting solar energy stored naturally in the River Thames as the base energy source for the advanced Mitsubishi heat pump system results in high energy efficiency and produces zero carbon emissions. The system is the first of its kind in the UK and will provide all the heating, hot water and cooling requirements for the entire Kingston Heights development.
On the west side of the site is Kingston Riverside, a landmark development of 210 luxury apartments rising majestically over the River Thames. NHP sold this part of the project to Redrow London in 2010 and the apartment complex was completed for its new owner and their scheme architects, Broadway Malayan, by main contractor Midgard and their project architects, Sprunt.
Award-winning design
Kingston Riverside features two dramatic blocks of 11 and 15 storeys, each stepping back from the river, an award-winning design that has allowed for the creation of spacious private terraces offering panoramic views of the river. The two towers, which are connected by a six-storey link block, are framed by curved ribs that give the development a highly contemporary look and create a maritime style and aesthetic which has been consolidated by the extensive use of Shackerley’s attractive ‘wood-look’ ceramic granite panels. The building earned Redrow London the 2014 WhatHouse? Silver Award for ‘Best exterior design’, and was also ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Best design of four storeys or more’ category at the 2014 Housebuilder Awards and the ‘Residential High-Rise Development’ category at the 2013/14 UK Property Awards.
NHP Managing Director Mike Spenser-Morris is delighted to see the land redeveloped so successfully and for his visions for the site to be brought to life. “It’s been a long time in the making,” he said, “and we have had to face and overcome many different political, legal and technological challenges along the way.” One of the main hurdles was the need to encapsulate a fully functioning substation in a steel-lined concrete box right in the middle of the site. Mike said: “Working closely with UK Power Networks we managed to incorporate this ‘box’, measuring around 200 metres long, 38 metres wide and four storeys high, into the design of the final scheme, enabling the development to proceed, and totally transforming the surrounding area.” He added: “We are also pioneering the use of water-source heat pumps to power Kingston Heights which has been an enormous challenge but all our efforts will be worthwhile as the installation is expected to save more than 500 tonnes in CO2 emissions and is forecast to cut residents energy bills by up to 20% once it is fully operational.”
Quality ceramic granite
The architectural designs for Kingston Riverside have also changed significantly from the original plans, as a result of political pressures, as Mike Spenser-Morris explains: “When our first proposals were submitted for planning consent, building heights in Kingston were very restricted. However, over recent years political pressures to increase the residential density of development sites have come to the fore, and this led to us drawing up new plans for the luxury apartment complex that you see today.”
One aspect of the specification for both buildings which has remained unchanged throughout the development period is the choice of high quality ceramic granite facade finishes selected by NHP. “We always wanted these buildings to conform to a very precise colour palette and were looking for premium quality external cladding materials that resembled timber and natural limestone,” says Mike Spenser-Morris. “We found that Shackerley’s Sureclad ceramic granite facade system could provide exactly what we were looking for.”
He continued: “One of the facade panels we selected looks just like limestone but has the great advantage that is supplied in a much thinner, stronger format than could be achieved with actual stone, with a much lower load on the building. Most importantly the cladding material is virtually impregnable to water ingress with almost zero porosity and is not affected by sunlight. It will therefore maintain its original appearance in the long term, whereas the appearance of real limestone, which is porous, would deteriorate very quickly. The second complementary ceramic granite panel we specified is very innovative and looks just like natural oak. However, unlike timber, it is totally resistant to all climatic extremes, UV light and airborne pollution. That means our stunning facades will never weather, fade or rot.”
He concluded: “We are confident that we have specified a superb low-maintenance cladding solution for this outstanding development scheme that will stand the test of time and look just as good in 15 to 20 years as it does today.”
