The Library Street housing development in South East London was designed to provide high specification living and outdoor space, but as affordable housing.
The build, which was constrained by the budget requirements regulating affordable housing, set out “to remove the visual and design differentiation between public and private housing, and to use the process to start to evolve a new generation of residential architecture for North Southwark, an architecture that expresses itself in terms of an urban form which is contemporary, light, flexible, mixed tenure and contained within a mixed use environment.”
JB Citideck®, a smooth non-slip deck board was chosen for all raised walkways and balconies, and the roof garden. Initially developed in conjunction with the inclusivity officer for the Olympics, the deck boards provide a safe non slip surface, whilst complementing the high design standards of the project.
The development of 6 town houses and 34 flats has a combination of private and shared outdoor space. Each apartment has either a terrace or balcony and the large roof garden offers spectacular views across London. The inclusive space provides an inviting setting for residents to develop a sense of community.
The clean lines and natural appearance of the decking, don’t just make the roof space functional, the decked balconies help the apartments flow from inside to out making the most of the space available. Planters and trees on the landscaped roof garden give the space a very different feel to the buildings around it in busy SE1.
The smooth deck boards are easier to clean as food and debris can’t become trapped, making it more suitable for urban and domestic use than traditional grooved boards. The fine aggregate used for the anti-slip inserts in JB CitiDeck® give superior slip resistance without presenting a trip hazard for the less able or children.
The JB CitiDeck® boards used for the Library Street Development were supplied with full PEFC chain of custody, treated to Use Class 3 and strength graded C16.
The 25 year guarantee against rot and decay mean that JB CitiDeck® will provide a welcoming low maintenance solution, for the Library Street Development for many years to come.
To find out more about using decking for your project contact the John Brash Technical Services team on 01427 675588.
