Raines Court, one of the largest schemes to incorporate Technal’s new GXi aluminium sliding balcony door, has won an RIBA Award. This pioneering project – the UK’s largest modular housing development and the first to be offered for sale – has also been shortlisted for two British Construction Industry Awards – the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award and the Building Award in the £3-50m category.
Developed by Peabody Trust, the apartments were manufactured and fully fitted out in York by Yorkon and designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris.
Raines Court was described in the RIBA judges’ report as “powerful and uncompromising…..The revelation is of a very well considered and agreeable ambience for urban living…..The balconies are really large….the apartments themselves are fine, work well and have good views within and without.”
Built to Housing Corporate standards, the scheme occupies the site of a former dairy in Stoke Newington. The design ethos for the project was to use high quality, low maintenance materials and products, which are strong and highly durable to maximise longevity. Each apartment module incorporates an integral entrance ‘court’ for access and balcony to the front elevation, which is glazed using the new GXi sliding balcony door.
Technal’s FXi46 casement windows were specified in a tilt/turn configuration where the units could not be cleaned from the outside. Top hung casements were used where the windows could be accessed from balconies or walkways. Both the windows and the balcony doors were pre-installed before the apartment modules left the factory.
GXi is a robust and high specification sliding window and balcony door, which has been developed by Technal for apartments and prestige office schemes. It was used at Raines Court to maximise natural light, giving each apartment a spacious feel, and to allow access to a private balcony.
Externally, Raines Court has a ‘chequerboard’ appearance, emphasised with the use of colour. Each apartment has its own colour for the entrance door and cladding panels, selected from a palette of shades of blue and green with splashes of yellow. This contrasts successfully with the dark grey windows and patio doors, and the zinc cladding.
The glazing fabricators were Securefront Systems.
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