42 PROJECT REPORT: BUILD TO RENT


In terms of lessons learned from other schemes, Tollast explains that they have managed to give the illusion of more space without adding to the height. epton ardens has the same floorto floor heights as the other buildings, but everything we have learned about exposed soffits, and floor buildups, and how to deal with bulkheads and sprinklers has been done so beautifully, that you just feel like there is much more volume in them.”


He continues by saying that the residents’ experience has been enhanced by “scrupulous attention to detail” by the designers, such as around the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, “which means that when you open up your hall cupboard, there is a lot of space to store things, it’s not full of mechanical ventilation systems.” Tollast adds that the hotel-style riser design means that heat exchangers do not need to be in the flats themselves a factor which is also a product of the building being built for renters.


The design offers a different aesthetic generally to the other schemes around the park, such as Alameda, which is “more white ceilings and white plasterboard,” whereas Repton Gardens has ‘industrial’ exposed concrete ceilings in the bedrooms and other parts of the apartments. This helps thermal mass, gives a more spacious feel, and offers an increasingly in-demand look for many urban dwellers. Tollast puts the approach


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simply, as offering “different things appeal to different people.”


lexibility has been thought about  in some of the single room apartments, there’s an extra internal room, which can be used as a dressing room (as in the show flat, or in another configuration it can become a playroom or home working space. In bedrooms, the glazing does not descend to the floor, with the belief that it can compromise interior design and furniture.


Fitzgerald mentions that in addition to standardisation of external lighting to help unify the overall scheme, standardisation has also come into play in other areas such as ICT networking, security, access control and fire safety systems, all based on learnings from other schemes.


CONCLUSION


As well as offering what Quintain Living believes is a new standard of communal, high-quality living in the BTR sector, based around careful design and landscaping, Repton Gardens also offers a fresh proposition. Being able to attend a show or match at Wembley, and have a short walk home afterwards is just one reason in other areas the apartments have proven so popular.


While such a prominent and iconic site might provide its challenges during construction, as the project director Michael Fitzgerald attests, the rewards are substantial.


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