Glengall Road
It’s enough to make even Peckham’s most famous residents – Derek ‘Del Boy’ and Rodney Trotter (not forgetting Uncle Albert) cheer.
The Trotters’ Nelson Mandela House may have disappeared but other landmark buildings are being brought back to life in Peckham – thanks to General Demolition.
Professional Team:
Southern Housing Group Potter Raper
Programme duration:
18 weeks
Value:
Over £750k
In summary
Redevelopment to include 170 residential apartments alongside 3,700m2 of retail and commercial space.
Demolition of core structures whilst preserving the historic front brick elevations and the 150ft brick industrial chimney
Demolition of slabs and rebar down to 1.5m and all foundations,
Creation of a large temporary works to support the boundary wall of an adjoining property
Significant quantity of notifiable asbestos removed
Strip out included the removal of internal partition walls, mechanical plant, equipment, and services
Cleaned and reclaimed 25,000 bricks
Dug six archaeologist trial pits
SE15 is on the rise
The South London area of SE15 is on the rise, enjoying a great sense of community, affordable accommodation, decent transport links and even a lovely park. 49-53 Glengall Road is part of this rejuvenation. Where once a 0.44 hectares complex of tired warehouse and industrial buildings stood, a new development of swish affordable housing is taking its place. This will include 170 residential apartments alongside 3,700m2 of retail and commercial space.
He who dares wins Rodders
But as with the reimagination of that icon – Battersea Power Station – shows, there is still a place for industrial architecture in 21st Century developments. And so General Demolition’s remit included bringing down the structures – but preserving the historic front brick elevations and the 150ft brick industrial chimney. These features are being incorporated into the new design to ensure that it is in keeping with the heritage of the local area.
As with many period structures, we had to remove a significant quantity of notifiable asbestos from the buildings. Strip out, included the removal of internal partition walls, mechanical plant, equipment, and services prior to the start of works proper. The GD team also painstakingly cleaned and reclaimed 25,000 bricks from the project, which it then delivered back to the contractor for use on the project. With preserving history in mind, it also dug six trial pits so archaeologist could see if the site held any ancient secrets.
With the buildings around them disappearing fast, the retained facades were supported by raking shoring, which was itself tied into the slab and given new foundations. Great care was also taken when demolishing around the chimney, with a Falklands-esque exclusion zone put in place to ensure the smokestack’s foundations weren’t disturbed.
This time next year
The work also included the demolition of slabs and rebar down to 1.5m and all foundations, as well as the creation of a large temporary works to support the boundary wall of an adjoining property. GD then crushed the concrete for reuse as a stable base for the ensuing piling rigs.
From run down warehouses to the smartest part of Peckham, 49 Glengall Road has hit the jackpot. As Del Boy himself would say, that’s lovely jubbly.
