About the Project

Extensive reinstatement works to 22 fire-damaged properties, completed in 83 weeks. 

Andrew Deacon demonstrated fantastic client focus on this scheme to reinstate 22 homes so badly fire-damaged that the top level of the 92-unit block had to be entirely replaced. 

Between tender and completion, this scheme transformed from one in which every apartment would be painted white and have the exact same fixings and finishings into a full-on stakeholder engagement exercise. The 22 different tenants all ended up selecting their own bespoke kitchens, bathrooms, fixtures and fittings – everything right down to the type and colour of the light switch. One resident even requested a particular door they had spotted while on holiday – and duly got it. 

Andrew delivered client satisfaction through smooth management of the host of stakeholders and by driving programme- and budget-friendly structural solutions. His temporary waterproofing solution to contain the torrents that had been pumped in on the night of the blaze by the fire brigade was so successful it was made permanent. 

He also suggested stepping the scaffold design up and inward over the conservatories so the team could work on the new roof and timber frame simultaneously with the elevations. And noticing that the gutters on the existing conservatories were too narrow to drain properly, he rejigged the space within the reinstated apartments to accommodate wider ones that matched the originals externally.