44 storey London apartment block set for modular construction
A deal has been agreed to begin work on the world’s largest apartment towers built using modular construction.
The twin-tower scheme of build-to-rent flats in Croydon, London will on completion have 550 apartments.
Set at 101 George Street, it will comprise two towers at 44-storeys and 38-storeys.
Tide Construction is set to team with investors, Greystar, the US multi-family giant and investment company Henderson Park.
The part-38, part 44-storey tower will reach 442ft, from nearly 1,500 modules, and take just 24 months to build.
Tide’s associate company Vision Modular Systems will build the scheme. VMS is one of the UK’s largest providers of volumetric construction modules, manufactured at its factory in Bedford.
Tide and Vision recently completed Apex House in Wembley, the tallest modular tower in Europe, for Scape. At 29 storeys the student development uses 679 modules for 580 student beds. It was built in less than 12 months.
Simon Bayliss, managing partner at HTA, said the technological advances made in modular construction mean that projects of this size are possible in London.
"The towers at George Street show that choosing to go modular doesn’t mean you must sacrifice great design," he said.
The towers scheme, drawn up by HT Design, will be worth over £150 million.
Presently, the tallest prefabricated building in the world is a 32-storey block in New York.
Tide is both a development and contracting company.
101 George Street is the fourth project Greystar and Tide Construction have delivered using modular construction and, once complete, will bring the total number of units the partnership has delivered in London to 1,700 units.
Modular construction is highly suited to rental developments as investors and operators can welcome residents into their homes sooner and open the revenue streams earlier.