In 2022, we installed scaffolding that would enable the necessary construction work required to improve student accommodation in Hackney, London.
Will Wyatt Court is a seven-storey building which was built in 2009 to house university students, with a community NHS walk-in on the ground floor.
Extensions and alterations were needed to the building at ground, fifth and sixth storey level, plus an additional seventh storey was required to provide new purpose-built student accommodation and an extended community area. It was necessary to improve the existing building to ensure it remained in keeping with the area.
In addition, the work involved the replacement of cladding which no longer met building regulations, so scaffolds were required to facilitate the cladding removal and reinstatement, as well as External Wall Insulation (EWI) works to communal areas.
Our job was to provide unimpeded access to install the cladding which was to be changed from a vertical to a horizontal installation.
Within the internal courtyard, the whole façade was changed from vertical cladding to a rendered EWI system so the tie detail was critical to guarantee that, as the works were being progressively dismantled, making good the tie locations was kept to a minimum and they were not clearly visible.
In order to minimise the amount of work required during the dismantle sequence, tie locations were agreed and detailed during early engagement between all contractors to ensure alterations or adaptations were not required once the scaffold was installed.
Due to there being no access into the courtyard (other than via a ground level corridor), the Alltask team used HAKI to keep the maximum length of materials to a minimum.
No storage was allowed until gantries to both the east and west were completed, meaning deliveries had to be booked and planned in advance.
Each elevation required different engagement with external parties including Camden Council, Transport for London (TFL) and local residents - this caused some delays which we needed to be able to work around.
It was one of the first projects following the Alltask acquisition of EA scaffolding.
it was a good opportunity for operatives from both divisions to work together. Everyone involved in the project was pleased with how successfully it went.