Project Postcards from Kensington, London

27 November 2024

Last month, our team travelled across London to document the progress of two live sites. Structural Engineers Artiom Cybulko and Charlotte Phillips were joined by William Dodd to visit two residential projects in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

At Cambridge Place, we are refurbishing a private residential building to include the construction of an additional basement level below the existing single-storey basement. We have maximised the gross internal area by underpinning the external and party walls around the full perimeter of the building. This approach has enabled the formation of the new basement while navigating the challenge of excavation below the water table. This required detailed coordination of temporary works design and sequencing. The underpinning around the building perimeter has been successfully completed in three phases, reaching the final basement depth and enabling the casting of the basement slab. At the time of the visit, temporary works were stabilising the excavation and supporting the retained rear elevation approximately 10m above the basement slab.

At Ladbroke Square in South Kensington, the internal refurbishment involves a new rear extension, the lowering of the existing ground floor level, and the conversion of unused front vault space under the pavement into a plant room. The works have included opening up the upper levels by removing existing load-bearing masonry walls and obtaining Approval in Principle from RBKC Highways for the vault work impacting the public road. The new lightweight steel and timber structure for the upper levels has been completed, while work continues at the basement level, including modifications to the vaults located beneath the pavement.

EOC continues to deliver innovative structural solutions while overcoming complex site challenges. Read more about our structural engineering expertise here.