We’re pleased to share that our St Matthews Court project by Studio Partington for Populo Living has been granted planning permission. The 100% affordable housing project will see the creation of 18 new homes within an upward and side extension of the 1950s council-owned housing block in Vicarage Lane, near West Ham park.

We are responsible for the building services design for the project, including energy and sustainability strategies, which is a venture in optimising, but not overdeveloping, the council’s existing buildings.

A key challenge posed by the design is delivering the improvements whilst the existing homes are retained. This means that minimising disruption, through extensive stakeholder engagement and well-coordinated delivery, is a crucial objective for the scheme.

The services strategy is being developed to achieve the client’s aspirations of net-zero for the new build aspects, and a significant increase in energy efficiency, and therefore reduced bills, for the existing residents. A fabric-first approach has been adopted, which will be supported through on-site renewable energy generation, and efficient systems such as heat pumps and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR).