Orchard Wharf represents an upcoming residential-focused project that seeks to address the pressing housing shortage in London. Situated directly alongside the River Lea, the architectural design skilfully navigates the intricacies of urban planning while embracing its contextual surroundings. A protective brick façade engages with the bustling urban environment, offering a shield while simultaneously creating a serene garden oasis that welcomes the morning sun and overlooks the tranquil riverbanks. Fassaden+Architektur+Technik were chosen as a façade specialist for this project.

This development consists of two principal buildings: a 24-storey tower and stepped blocks of 20, 17, 14, 11, and eight storeys, linked by a two-storey podium at ground level, creating a cascading effect. Orchard Wharf offers a selection of luxury apartments, duplexes, and penthouses for ambitious owner-occupiers or buy-to-let investors. Strict adherence to the construction programme, early delivery of Stage 4 design, and readiness of the invitation to tender for the façade package were of paramount importance to the project's success.

Our challenge at F+A+T was to engineer a hybrid precast (to achieve the curvature) and unitised façade assembly while adhering to strict planning requirements for a masonry look-alike façade. Another challenge was meeting the stringent thermal performance standards (solid areas 0.18W/m²k and clear glazed areas 1.3W/m²k) using non-combustible materials throughout the wall build-up when the majority of residential units had already been marketed and sold, making internal floor space reduction out of the question.