Building Project: Syntegra project scoops National RIBA Award

A project Syntegra Group worked on in several roles has won a prestigious national award.

The conversion scheme at 168 Upper Street, Islington, London, saw the development of three apartments and a shop from a Victorian commercial landmark.

The rebuild, overseen by Groupwork, won the RIBA 2019 London Award and a RIBA National Award. The Syntegra roles included:

• M&E designers
• Sustainability consultants
• Environmental consultants
• Acoustic consultants

The 545m2 project includes cross-laminated timber floors and walls, resulting in reduced build times as they are constructed off-site, and described by judges in the RIBA awards as ‘impressively detailed and constructed joinery’.

The site was bombed during the Second World War having formed the symmetrical end pavilion of an otherwise preserved 19^th Century terrace so the developers set out to sympathetically rebuild and replace the missing section.

The architects decided on an innovative façade built as ‘a monolithic terracotta monument to the past’ and the judges which presented it with a RIBA Regional Award, said the finished project ‘is destined to become a memorable London landmark’.

Syntegra looked at standard sustainability issues such as energy provision, waste management, materials, water, pollution and flood risk to help the developer achieve the Council’s required Level 4 rating under the Code for Sustainable Homes.

We prepared an energy strategy report for the planning application, used to demonstrate that climate change mitigation measures are integral to a scheme’s design and appropriate to the context of the development.

In considering appropriate renewable energy proposals for the project, solar PV panels on the roof were recommended to offset some of the carbon emissions – an efficient use of space in a crowded urban street setting.

A Syntegra spokesman said: ‘The site footprint was quite small and we had to make the most of what they had to use the space efficiently.

‘The biggest challenge on the project was the Code for Sustainable Homes and going above and beyond the requirements to reach Level 4 standards.’

For more information about our involvement on this project and how we can assist you on others, please get in touch mail@syntegragroup.com