Elephant Park H4

Elephant Park H4 is a vast £2.5 billion redevelopment by Lendlease at Elephant and Castle, in the heart of the capital. This landmark project is being delivered in partnership with Southwark Council. It is primed to have significant social value not only to the residents of Elephant Park but also to the surrounding community.

The scheme will bring 3,000 new homes, 1,000 new jobs and up to 50,000 sq. ft of workspace to the area once complete, as well as extensive green spaces, shops and amenities. Lendlease has taken a holistic approach to generating homes and nurturing a neighbourhood and sense of community surrounding Elephant Park.

Sapphire balcony was commissioned to design and manufacture balconies for this project. Brand new handrail extrusion profiled and vertical bars were bespoke to suit architect requirements.

Varied solutions were offered based on their requirements. Some balconies needed the installation of privacy screens, while some were inset balconies between into-reveals.

Challenge:

There were two main challenges with the Elephant Park H4 project. The first challenge was the new bespoke design of the balustrade was tricky. Underneath, the handrail had to be levelled to get the right finish.

The second biggest challenge of the project was it started with no soffits but was upgraded to Class B decking. It was due to fire risk and regulation changes, which became a challenge as we had to offer solutions at the last minute.

Solution:

Our team of experts at Sapphire designed purpose-made bespoke extrusions for both the handrail and the vertical bar to stay in alignment with the needs of the architects.

Controlled drainage was proposed for the soffits and the level 1 gutter balconies over principal entrances.

Installation Process

Step 1: Cast-in anchors were cast into the slab & incorporated thermal break connections offering superior rigidity to the balconies.

Step 2: Glide-on Cassette® balconies were preassembled offsite, including the balustrades, decking & soffits.

Step 3: Glide -On Cassette®, balconies were transported with balconies ‘nested’ onto each pallet, making transport both cost-effective & safe. Balconies were pre-slung offsite and ready for installation upon arrival.

Step 4: Once lifted into position, the Cassettes® simply Glide-On™ to the pre-erected support arms before completing the simple mechanical fixings.