30 PROJECT REPORT: REGENERATION
“It’s a wonderful place for visitors and residents to enjoy, and is an integral part of the long-term plan for residential and business premises in the harbour area.” With planning permission granted in for the overall masterplan enner Group (one of Kent’s largest regional contractors) were engaged to build this key project in their hometown, delivering phase .
Completion is programmed for early 2023, when carefully planned phased handovers will see the new homes ready to welcome their occupants. “The bold investment – made in a quintessential seaside town – represents regeneration in its truest form, bringing a disused area back to life that will serve to boost both society and the economy, and ensures Folkestone continues its renaissance,” says Ella.
A CONTENTIOUS SITE
THE PROPOSED FACADE SYSTEM NEEDED TO ENSURE DURABILITY WHILE ALSO OFFERING THE CLIENT LOW MAINTENANCE
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Given the project’s prominent location on the beachfront, Chris tells me that Shoreline has been a “contentious” site, with Jenner working “tirelessly” from the outset to overcome the initial opposition from the local community. This was demonstrated by the scheme scoring 43 out of 45 in its latest ‘Considerate Contractors’ score with full marks in the community engagement category. “By proactively engaging with the community through organised beach cleans and litter picks, alongside regular schools and college engagement, we ensured that we are socially responsible and accountable in our actions,” he says, adding “we have been described as creating an incredibly positive image of construction.” Formerly, the site housed Victorian amusement arcades, rides and a boating lake before the dilapidated buildings were cleared to allow for car parking space, and the land was subsequently reclaimed and remediated to create the new beach scene in recent years, on which the new homes are now being built. During excavations, Jenner had to remove quite a few obstructions which had been left below the surface. “Interestingly,” explains Chris, “these included the base of the former boating lake and the foundations for some of the theme rides and attractions.” “It has been fascinating to recall the former site as we progress with the new,” adds Ella. “For many locals,” Chris continues, “the area and what it used to resemble was already long forgotten by the time these remediation works were carried out anyway, but for others we often heard that the works had been done so well that it overcame any qualms. He adds that it “sympathetically transformed
the area by creating the beach frontage, which was in place prior to construction activity commencing, replacing a mass of concrete slabs and tarmac.”
FLOOD RISK
Given the development’s proximity to the sea flood ris had to be a huge consideration” for the team here, but, with remedial works undertaken to recontour areas of the site, and to raise the foreshore, 200 years of possible flooding has been accounted for minimising future risk for the homes. “In addition to building well above the water table where flooding ris is most prominent,” details Chris, “there are a host of measures in place to further protect the area from flooding. Under the beach area, for example, which is beyond the boardwalk and closer to the sea, there is an “enormous” sand-filled soc that sits metres below the beach.
30 metres deep and 6 metres wide, this structure has been placed to reduce the lielihood of future flooding and was implemented when the client team remodelled the beach, before the boardwalk was installed.
VISUAL IMPACT
As well as mitigating for potential flooding Chris says it was ey that “given the likely exposure to extreme weather conditions and highly corrosive salt spray,” the proposed facade system needed to ensure durability while offering a low maintenance system that remains aesthetically pleasing, and thereby “ultimately, posed one of the biggest design considerations.”
“Original aspirations for a crushed glass finish render to create a sparling finish were shelved for safety reasons, and new options that would offer the same visual impact were explored,” he continues. As an alternative to rendered insulation, many options were considered, but it was glazed white bricks and a white mortar that were chosen - with the final bric being sourced from a Paloma in Spain.
“Standardised was never going to be an option,” explains Chris, noting the over 24 different specialist bricks required to achieve the complex geometry. With a bespoke 70 mm high brick, “sourced to respond to the convex and concave waves of the brick facade, rigorous testing has been carried out to ensure quality would never be compromised and full compliance to all reuired standards of fire safety.
STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES
Behind this brick facade, the semi-circular building – with its ‘bookend’ structures
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