Commercial Conversion, 20-Room Student Co-Living Accommodation
Liverpool Road is a live project at the time of writing this piece in November 2021. The existing set out is formed by 6-two-storey terraced commercial units which have been disused and neglected for several years. It was due to severe fire damage, business closures or being empty. The existing building is next to Fowlea Brook, which floods. This flooding gives challenges and constrains as it influences the type of works that can be carried out.
The proposal consists of three large residential shared units on the ground floor and a 15-room co-living space in the first and second floors. The current internal roof space will be converted into high quality en-suites, thereby providing an additional second floor.
There will be several challenges in this project, such as the mitigation of careful and sequential re-construction of the 3 buildings affected by fire. Also, the stabilisation of the new storeys re-using as much as practicable that is in the existing structure. The foundations are to be piled due to the poor soil conditions.
A structural survey with the aid of a drone was carried out at the early stages of the stripping out. The aim was to assess the degree of fire damage to assist the Contractor in a strategy to install the new structure whilst ensuring the remaining structure is safely temporarily restraint.
In this project we provided structural engineering and Party Wall advice and carried out the Schedule of Conditions.
