PROJECT REPORT: COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS 23


says Richardson. Resorting to concrete for the cores ensures a robust two hour enclosure rating, and according to the architect, this strategy gave fi re services the confi dence to permit other, higher risk elements in the building.


Close proximity to the railway line put a particular focus on combustibility of the facade, so early doors the design team had close liaison with rail services, listing out all the materials to ensure there was nothing combustible. According to Richardson, this wasn’t a requirement of legislation, but came from a need to bolster the mass timber strategy and demonstrate zero risk from the facade to the railway and the building. Even where the timber slabs


ADF FEBRUARY 2026


project into the exterior wall build up, they are encased in a fi re protection board to guarantee fi restopping.


The facade is clad with two types of teal-coloured terracotta tile – a nod to Lambeth’s Royal Doulton heritage – one extruded, one featuring a unique pattern co-designed with the input of local schoolchildren under the guidance of social enterprise MATT+FIONA. The childrens’ tiles are applied in bands around the windows on level two.


The greenish tint of the facade is a


fi tting backdrop to the park, where a Grade II-listed brick boundary wall was entirely dismantled and rebuilt as part of the project, complete with repositioned headstones.


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CONNECTION WITH LANDSCAPE


Views across the adjacent gardens provide people with a connection with natural greenery in the heart of the city


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