The tie-up between regeneration manager Igloo and contractor Carillion has pulled off its highest-profile project win so far, when it was this week chosen to build Britain’s first “floating village” at the Royal Docks development in east London.
The scheme was designed by London architect de Rijke Marsh Morgan as a kind of floating housing estate ithat will be moored to a pontoon structure supported by the type of concrete foundations used in a similar Dutch scheme at Ijberg near Amsterdam (designed by Buro Happold with the help of some Dutch experts on floating house design ). Construction of the homes, which will be custom-built to individual specifications, will be carried out offsite.
Altogether, there will be about 50 houses as well as some entertainment venues – possibly including a lido and an ice rink – and offices.
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Although, at 15 acres, it isn’t the largest regeneration scheme in London this year, the floating village has received the personal endorsement of Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. It was also newsworthy because, although floating settlements have become quite fashionable in northern Europe, they have never been tried in the UK before.
It also shows that the Carillion-Igloo partnership is becoming a successful innovator in the housebuilding world.
Last month, it teamed up with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to launch an imaginative experiment in “custom building”: allowing buyers to actually design the houses themselves using a choice of factory-made housing options.
The scheme, being tried out in Cornwall with the Coastline housing agency, received the official go-ahead for up to 150 units last month. The future householder will buy a plot of land, choose their preferred manufacturer and work with it to create the home from a menu of options.
The first scheme is earmarked for a site called Treveson Park near the village of Pool, on the north-west coast. If Cornwall council gives its approval for the plots chosen, work is expected to start in the spring.
Jon Sawyer, the head of the Custom Build scheme for Carillion-Igloo, said that if it all goes according to plan, it will add up to a new housing delivery model.
Carillion-Igloo is trialling a custon build scheme in Cornwall
He said: “We know that as many as 67% of people would rather not buy from a volume housebuilder. Here, the customer can come to Carillion-Igloo’s Plot Shop, choose where they want to live on our site and get advice from a panel of home manufacturers. They can then work with their chosen home manufacturer to customise it and they will receive regular progress reports as their home is built. We look forward to providing local people with the opportunity to choose a home that will meet their taste and budget.”
The other scheme that the Carillion-Igloo team has on its books is a residential development called the Malings on brownfield land on the banks of a river near Newcastle upon Tyne. It represents the first phase in a framework agreement between Carillion- Igloo, Newcastle council and the HCA. Eventually this will comprise about 250 homes, with offices, leisure and retail.
Igloo was formed as a “regeneration manager” by the Aviva insurance company, and it had a brief to promote imaginative regeneration and also green regeneration.
The Malings scheme was designed by Ash Sakula Architects as relatively high density one – three-storey terraced townhouses make up the default design, albeit with gardens and roof terraces. They will also be expected to meet Level Four of the Code for Sustainable Homes, thanks to Passivhaus levels of air-tightness, green roofs and photovoltaic panels.
