Located on the impressive riverfront of London’s South Bank, the Riverlight development will boast over 800 apartments across six separate residential buildings once it is complete in 2017. The mixed-use development will also include bars, restaurants, shops, a crèche and an underground car park.
Initially appointed to the project to design, supply and install smoke ventilation systems in three of the blocks, FDS Contracting (FDS) secured a further appointment from award-winning developers St James for the remaining pavilions, which range from 12 to 20 storeys in height. As a result of the large scale of the development, FDS’ Project Manager remained on site in a dedicated office, providing a central point of contact for the other parties involved.
The development, which has been designed by renowned architects Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, saw FDS install a number of its smoke venting systems, including mechanical smoke ventilation across all six residential blocks.
Selected due to the building’s design and height, mechanical smoke ventilation provides greater efficiency in the event of a fire compared to its natural counterpart, protecting the development’s staircases and common corridors from smoke ingress. The system will also provide a safe escape route for occupants, as well as a clear access route for fire fighters.
The smoke ventilation contractors also installed residential sprinkler systems in each of the six blocks’ apartments. As required under Approved Document Part B of the Building Regulations, all residential apartment buildings with floors above 30 metres above ground level must feature sprinkler systems. By expelling water to the base of a fire, the system controls the fire whilst also preventing it from spreading to other apartments.
The two-level car park, situated beneath all of the blocks, also required FDS to install car park ventilation systems. As well as clearing smoke in the event of a fire, the system exhausts pollutants produced by vehicles during day to day use. The contractors also installed a complete fire alarm system throughout the development.
To ensure that all relevant deadlines were met, and that additional works could progress as quickly as possible, FDS carried out phased handovers of each block, with the car park being delivered in two separate phases.
FDS started work on the Riverlight development in January 2014 and is expected to complete work at the end of April 2017, with the entire development expected to be complete by September 2017.
For more information about this project please download the case study or contact us on 01322 387411 / email info@fdsuk.com
