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Prefab brickwork at beating heart of Southwark's Borough Yards

Innovative brick slip and masonry support solutions combine intelligent engineering and offsite craftsmanship to revitalise a railside thoroughfare in south-east London

In association with
Building 1 with Everyman cinema: one of the more straightforward elements of the Borough Yards project.
Building 1 with Everyman cinema: one of the more straightforward elements of the Borough Yards project.

Award-winning shopping and dining district Borough Yards in south-east London was built by Wates Group for developer MARK and was designed by London-based architect SPPARC.

It features transformed and re-purposed railway arches, viaducts and warehouses, along with five new buildings, that weave their way from Borough Market to Clink Street. There is a cinema, art gallery and two new offices.

Construction manufacturer IG Masonry Support worked on a series of innovative brickwork solutions for the project that blend old with new, while retaining south London's Victorian railway heritage.

With brickwork contractor Lesterose, the firm designed and supplied complex prefabricated brickwork elements, including its Welded Masonry Support, Brick Slip Masonry Support and BOSS+ (Brick on Soffit System). 

  • Building 2: Brick slip sills were manufactured offsite and delivered complete with bricks bonded for final pointing.
    Building 2: Brick slip sills were manufactured offsite and delivered complete with bricks bonded for final pointing.
  • Spearheads feature at four levels of Building 2: BOSS+ bolted to masonry support system.
    Spearheads feature at four levels of Building 2: BOSS+ bolted to masonry support system.
  • The weight and size of the spearheads allowed them to be installed as one unit directly from a scaffold on site.
    The weight and size of the spearheads allowed them to be installed as one unit directly from a scaffold on site.
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The site is a landmark conservation area so the brickwork for the new buildings had to complement existing brickwork on the repurposed viaducts and warehouses, while establishing their own character. 

IG Masonry Support manufactured and supplied prefabricated components that met wider conservation area considerations around planning as well as all fire and building regulations.

The architect and design team had come up with a complex design for Building 4 and required a bespoke ‘floating’ brick feature with a jagged design.

IG Masonry Support’s brick slips helped achieve a distinctive angled soffit design that met the historic aesthetic in a modern, easy-to-install solution.

The distinctive spearheads on Building 2 were another challenge, but IG Masonry Support’s close collaboration with the contractors and the architect enabled a robust and eyecatching design. Installed over four level points of the building, the innovative spearheads, never seen before, were manufactured with glass reinforced concrete and hand-laid brickwork in-between.

The brick slip systems and masonry support are prefabricated units manufactured offsite and delivered complete with bricks mechanically fixed and bonded to them. They can be customised to the architect’s design.

  • Welded Masonry Support at Building 1, Borough Yards.  A traditional rigid masonry support system with fixed brackets welded to a stainless-steel angled support shelf.
    Welded Masonry Support at Building 1, Borough Yards. A traditional rigid masonry support system with fixed brackets welded to a stainless-steel angled support shelf.
  • Mechanically fixed BOSS+: A lightweight brick slip soffit system with mechanically fixed brick slips.
    Mechanically fixed BOSS+: A lightweight brick slip soffit system with mechanically fixed brick slips.
  • Building 3: From street to roof level, brick interventions reference the site's historic architecture.
    Building 3: From street to roof level, brick interventions reference the site's historic architecture.
  • Building 3's external facade was formed without building traditional brickwork walls.
    Building 3's external facade was formed without building traditional brickwork walls.
  • Building 4: A complex structural steel frame and jagged design feature achieved with Brick Slip Masonry Support.
    Building 4: A complex structural steel frame and jagged design feature achieved with Brick Slip Masonry Support.
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'The use of masonry was a fundamental part of our design vision,' says Trevor Morriss, principal at SPPARC.

'The new buildings had to cohabitate successfully with the heritage fabric and each of the buildings had to have a unique character while harmonising with the surrounding area.

'The detailing around the masonry is the fundamental part of this scheme. IG Masonry Support's technical advice and can-do attitude was essential to achieving this.'

The new buildings sit side-by-side with the historic viaducts and warehouses and are now an integral part of the street scene and conservation area.

IG Masonry Support systems and technical expertise have ensured the landmark Southwark development is thoughtfully planned, well built and a sought-after attraction in south London.

Find more on this case study at igmasonrysupport.com/projects/borough-yards

For more information and technical support, visit igmasonrysupport.com

 

Contact:

01283 200157

support@igmss.co.uk


 

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