Payne Road

A development of 4 new build and 1 refurbished block to provide 154 apartments, work units and community space near Stratford. Deep sewers pass below this difficult site which required negotiations with Thames Water and the design of large transfer structures to bridge over the 8-storey building. This transfer structure was further complicated by the unexpected discovery of live water mains; the redesign minimised the loss of usable space. Other items unearthed beneath the site included a large brick tank structure below the 18-storey tower and a cemetery which was sympathetically cleared and re-interred off-site.

A structure of reinforced concrete flat slabs and columns with concrete stability walls was adopted for the new-build blocks. The existing printworks building was refurbished using timber, steel and concrete in keeping with the original structure.

The deep sewers are likely to be diverted as part of the Crossrail development. Allowance for future works has been made in the foundation design to minimise the effects of this future diversion.