Lawray was appointed to re-work the planning information and develop and coordinate a structural and MEP scheme which was absent from the consented project. To address the topography of the site we also designed the levels between the existing public house and proposed new extension. Following this very successful re-work of the design, we were commissioned to take the design through RIBA Stage 5.
The ambition was to make the very most of this mixed-use site. The area was named after the Fox family who were farmers living in the area during the 14th century, and a public house has stood on the site for over 300 years. The current Edwardian pub dates from 1904 when great change and growth was underway in Palmers Green.
Listed as an asset of community value, The Fox is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the Palmers Green streetscape. The refurbishment (which included reinstating a missing Cupula) has significantly improved the appearance of the building whilst also providing a flexible function room, commercial space and two large first floor apartments. Acoustic separation between the pub function room and dwellings above required detailed analysis so that sound mitigation solutions could be implemented to prevent noise being heard in the apartments above.
Designed to complement the red-brick Edwardian pub, in both materiality and form, the new three storey adjacent development provides a mixture of studio, one and two-bedroom apartments. On the primary façade, third floor accommodation is contained within a mansard roof, and to the south the building steps back with each storey, with apartments overlooking a new external communal space on a first-floor podium. A cycle store and residents car park have also been provided.
To deliver a cost-effective solution, the facade construction methodology was developed using a lightweight brick slip solution to avoid expensive secondary support systems.
Using a fabric first approach, carbon savings have been made by heavily insulating the facades and installing renewable energy sources including air-source heat pumps. The podium deck’s landscaped roof incorporates SuDs and enhances ecology, with a blue roof it to attenuate water. The sustainability strategy for the project was designed to meet a 45% carbon reduction improvement in line with the London Plan.
Lawray’s technical design capability and delivery methodology using BIM and Revit as a platform, has enabled the scheme to be as economically viable as possible whilst achieving the design quality expected.
