The Fold

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Case Study Details

• Client: United House Developments Ltd
• Contract Duration: January 2011 - August 2012
• Contract Value: £20,000,000 (GDV)
• Contract Form: JCT design and build
• Contract Location: The Fold, 112 Station Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA15 7BT

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Description

The Fold is a prime site situated adjacent to Sidcup railway station. Architects Studio Egret West has designed the 6,502m2 development which will comprise restaurant, office and retail space on the ground floor and 98 flats spanning across nine storeys. United House Developments will sell 69 private apartments, with prices ranging from £130,000 to £300,000, whilst the remaining 29 affordable apartments will be managed by Gallions Housing Association.

The development is set to be a landmark in the area with its curved metallic cladding and roof top gardens. Surrounding the site is a mixture of shops, offices and homes of varying styles, alongside a public realm that is in need of updating.

Challenges

The scheme consists of three connected blocks. The main private accommodation tower features offsets in the floor plate, providing a challenge in setting out the rising services around a fixed core, whilst the apartments rotate around the core on a floor-by-floor basis.

The development will be served by a central plant room, containing condensing gas boilers and two combined heat and power units to offset 20% of the site wide carbon emissions, and to achieve a Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 score.

The development will be a tight and awkwardly shaped site; the curved and folding nature of the building allowed the architect to continue one aesthetic around the site while breaking down the mass as the folds overlap.  The site demanded a building with no back, only public faces on all sides: this posed significant contextual constraints.  The architect found that using a curved folding face that it could step and split the building while keeping a single and continuous identity. Furthermore, the massing of the building has been carefully considered to respond to the surrounding buildings.

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