What was once a disused brownfield site, Bank House is a riverfront housing development comprising 251nr dwellings, and is being delivered by specialist home ownership provider Pobl. With a build programme spanning 4 years, the homes are being developed across 4 phases. Phase 2 offers 36 contemporary two bedroom apartments, and 24 contemporary one bedroom apartments. All apartments benefit from Balco’s truly bespoke and spacious AluOne balconies, providing essential external amenity space, whilst also perfectly positioned to take advantage of the scenic riverfront views. Sophisticated in design, Balco’s AluOne self-supporting balconies span over three floors, and compliment the building façade.
Customer:
Pobl Living
Year built:
2020
Address:
Prime location alongside the River Usk in Newport, South Wales
Number of balconies:
36
Bank House is within walking distance of an array of services and facilities at Caerleon Road, and Newport City Centre, so our client was keen to enhance the site’s sustainable credentials. Located near the River Usk, the specification of materials was critical to ensure resistance to exposure and corrosion, and longevity of product. Our client was keen to engage with SubContractors who were able to assist with the early design and planning, to ensure thermal bridges were not created at any stage during the build process. Community safety was a key consideration in the design and layout of the scheme.
With residents residing in the nearby completed Phase 1 development, the ‘best practicable means’ to reduce noise needed to be considered. Aside from the noise and air pollution of heavy machinery and equipment, construction and delivery vehicles travelling to and from site needed to be kept to a minimum to avoid traffic delays and health and safety concerns through the residential streets. Access routes and restrictions also caused a particular problem due to the constrained urban setting at Bank House.
Balco’s AluOne balcony system is a fabulous addition to our Phase II development. Their full turn-key service has been outstanding, from initial design, to off-site manufacture, to on-site installation.
Diolch yn fawr Balco!
Project Manager Pobl
Balco’s bespoke AluOne balcony system was well suited to this particular project. All balconies are manufactured off-site in our controlled factory environment, in accordance with our Quality (ISO 9001) & Environmental (ISO 14001) Management Systems. This ensured greater quality control, and reduced waste, resulting in a lower environmental impact. AluOne was considered to be the most practical solution due to its extremely low maintenance requirements, and 100% recycling capacity. The aluminium profiles were powder coated to compliment the façade of the building, providing an extremely durable and high quality finish.
AluOne was also chosen for its structural simplicity and ease of implementation. The balconies are virtually a separate structure to the buildings, and are connected via a face fix method only, thus eliminating the effects of cold bridging. AluOne encourages natural surveillance by virtue of the positioning of the balconies and orientation towards the riverside public walkway. The front support columns are slightly recessed, allowing for a full panoramic view. Balco’s off-site manufacture requires less heavy machinery, and less energy consumption on site. Lightweight in construction, our AluOne balcony system ensures quick and easy assembly on site, ensuring noise and air pollution are greatly reduced.
Balco logistics department maximise the products that can be transported at any one time, thereby reducing the number of vehicles required for delivery. Off-site manufacture ensures material requirements are calculated more accurately, whilst manufactured to the highest quality, minimising the potential for delays and defects on site. Overall efficiency and health and safety on site is improved, as well as being less disruptive to the surrounding community and road infrastructure.
The Balco AluOne system is a welcome new product to compliment our offering. Not only does it present the perfect solution for many of our clients and a wide range of building types, it’s exceedingly straightforward to install and the aluminium construction ensures low maintenance and excellent longevity.
Project Manager, Balco
Open balconies are a genuine asset, whatever the size of the apartment or time of year.
Project: Phase 2 of the Lofts at Bank House, providing 36 contemporary two bedroom apartments.
Location: Prime location alongside the River Usk in Newport, South Wales, NP19 7BH.
Client and partners: Pobl Living, Newport City Council and the Welsh Government.