ore than 600 new homes are part of the phased residential development of the three-hectare site, which marks London’s first major carbon neutral development. The design of the modern complex of homes and community facilities echoes traditional street patterns with a beautifully landscaped public square surrounded by cafes, restaurants and shops.
Curved, swooping facades and curtain walling work together with undulating islands of woodland landscaping and meandering paths in harmony with a variety of contemporary, high specification housing.
Next year Greenwich Square will provide a total of 645 modern new apartments, town houses and maisonettes, which have been steadily unveiled over a five-year period in several phases.
Nearly 50% of the residential homes on the site are allocated as affordable housing and will be offered through London & Quadrant’s shared ownership scheme. With a project that’s all about giving back, the developers were keen that the scheme delivered ancillary benefits for the local community through local employment. Training opportunities and apprenticeships have been set up with National Apprenticeships Service (NAS) and Greenwich Local Labour and Business to engage young people and foster an interest in the construction industry.
The development is on track to deliver much-needed communal facilities for existing and new residents on the brownfield site, including an impressive square with a range of shops and cafes. The Greenwich Centre has just celebrated its first birthday and houses a public library, gymnasium, swimming pools, a crèche and GP practice.
The result is a model mixed-use development that caters to all different types of people, positioned between Blackheath, Greenwich Village and the Greenwich Peninsula, with its world-famous O2 Arena. From the market to a beautiful park, Greenwich is well known for being a dynamic and vibrant area, with unique personality and a strong sense of place.
Greenwich Square was designed by Make Architects, fabricated by Fleetwood Architectural Aluminium and contracted by Mace Plc. In 2014, the scheme won Best Residential Development at The Wharf Awards. The build has now started, using sustainable materials and techniques, including the incorporation of on-site energy technology. Greenwich Square will be complete in 2017 and the aim is to deliver a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rated development and to meet Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 standards.
Greenwich is one of 14 inner London boroughs going to great lengths to develop the area and provide a better community for all. Following a greater investment than any other London borough, previous improvements to the local area already include a major new transportation infrastructure, the development of new parks, open spaces, river walks, cycle ways and leisure centres.
Greenwich Square has utilised multiple Reynaers aluminium systems, including CS 86-HI, CS 77, CW 50 and Vision 50. These cutting-edge aluminium windows and doors are well-insulated to control heat and air permeability, thereby reducing costs for residents.
Used throughout the £215m development, Reynaers’ CS 86-HI and CS 77 include robust flush door and window systems, which meet the highest requirements with regard to safety, thermal insulation and stability.
Reynaers multi-chamber, high insulation aluminium doors and aluminium window system CS 86-HI benefited from a recent upgrade to accommodate larger glass panes, including triple glazing and pivoting window options.
A special modification to CS 86 now allows the installation of glazing panels from the outside. This allows the use of larger and heavier panels, including triple glazing up to 500kg, and avoids the need to transport glass through buildings.
Pivoting openers with hinges fully integrated into the profiles have also been introduced. Depending on the position of the hinges, the pivot window can be supplied as tilting windows, pivoting around the horizontal axis (max. 200kg), or pivoting around the vertical axis (max. 160kg). The new system helps create a more flexible building design, allowing glass panes up to a maximum height of 2500mm.
Used extensively on energy-efficient and BREEAM-rated buildings, Reynaers CS 86-HI aluminium windows and doors incorporate a unique insulation that ensures extreme stability and enhanced water and airtightness. The performance of the system for air and watertightness has subsequently been upgraded to 300Pa.
Several of the CS 86-HI window and door configurations achieve the Minergie and Minergie-P component labels. When it comes to safety, the system is fully compliant with burglar resistance classes 2 and 3, offering an ultimate level of security.
Head of Marketing at Reynaers, Hugh Moss, said: “Not only do we try to reduce the company’s energy consumption and its emissions of greenhouse gases with our architectural glazing; we also contribute to limiting the energy consumption of new and existing buildings through the development of energy-efficient windows and doors. The overall insulation value of the system’s HI+ variant makes it one of the most energy-efficient systems available.”
With unlimited design freedom and maximum transparency, CW 50 is a curtain wall facade and roof system that has been used as part of the buildings in the public square.
Reynaers has also launched an improved aluminium Concept Wall 50-HI (high insulation) system, which offers better thermal insulation properties than ever before.
This new variant of CW 50 benefits from improved insulation profiles, which can achieve an impressive insulation value (Uf) down to 0.56 W/m²K with a glass thickness of 60mm. Previously this was 0.73 W/m²K, while the standard CW 50 system has a Uf value of 1.7 W/m²K.
As the CW 50-HI is now provided with standard glazing gaskets, the aluminium curtain wall system is suitable for even heavy-duty triple glazing, up to a maximum of 61mm.
A further advantage of the new CW 50-HI system is the ease of production and installation. The insulation profile used in the HI system consists of a pre-cut part, so that drainage canals can be incorporated easily. Installation is made even more convenient because the glass doesn’t require waterproof taping to the pressure plate area.
Vision 50, used in the retail elements of the development, is a non-insulated flush door system designed for ground floor and shopfront constructions.
Hugh Moss added: “This is yet another impressive project which showcases the design freedom, sustainability credentials and functionality of our aluminium systems.
“This fantastic development maximises glass and aluminium structures by contrasting them against light, space and greenery. Sustainability has been integral to the design of Greenwich Square and we are proud that our systems have been chosen, thanks to our excellent credentials.”
