Back to Case studiesPublished Date:03/09/26
| Client: | Lendlease |
| Contractor: | Sisk |
| Architect: | Maccreanor Lavington |
| Location: | London, UK |
| Balconies: | 103 |
The first development on one of London’s largest regeneration schemes, Sapphire supplied architecturally elegant balconies with a unique connection detail to Plot Six (now known as Molina House and Navale House) in Silvertown.
Plot Six is the first unit to be delivered within the sprawling Silvertown regeneration scheme, spearheaded by Lendlease and The Guinness Partnership. Designed by Maccreanor Lavington and developed by Sisk, Plot Six provides the first 900 homes within the Silvertown scheme and sets the standard for many more sites to come.
Sapphire contributed 103 cantilevered balconies to this development, with eye-catching bow-shaped balustrades providing a unique architectural flourish to the façade. The first scheme of its type in the UK, Sapphire installed balcony anchors directly to the DELTABEAM® frame to bypass the hollowcore slabs and support the design of this lightweight building.
Architects Maccreanor Lavington approached Sapphire with an aspiration to make their building stand out within the rapidly emerging urban landscape. They wanted to incorporate a unique motif onto the balconies. Sapphire designed a bespoke bow-shaped balustrade incorporating curved aluminium bars. This was achieved through a weld-free design utilising curved aluminium bars. With a novel strategy designed to support manufacturing at speed and scale without compromising quality or structural integrity, we ensured our balconies would elevate the façade, making the building an eye-catching feature on the landscape.
“It creates quite a distinctive look when you stand at a certain angle. It’s something a little bit different, a little bit unique, that attracts people’s interest.”
—James Styles, Development Manager at Lendlease, Silvertown Plot 6
Silvertown presented a unique site constraint, with London City Airport barely a kilometre away. This made crane time limited, meaning speed of the essence. Also nearby, a marina and an elevated DLR line compressed site boundaries, giving us very little space to operate within. Thankfully, our Remote Locker Device provided the perfect solution. By delivering our prefabricated balconies with arms already contained within the Cassette®, we were able to install at rapid pace directly onto the stubs, meaning no need for a wide berth for delivery. In the end, all 103 balconies were delivered in just eight days.
“Every time we put a crane up, we need permission from London City Airport, and so it’s a long application process. But Sapphire, together with Sisk, did a great job in managing that.”
—James Styles, Development Manager at Lendlease, Silvertown Plot 6
By getting involved early, Sapphire was able to begin rationalisation before the finalisation of the masterplan. This meant that by the time the scheme was submitted for planning approval, we had already provided accurate details of the intended balcony designs with efficiencies already agreed. This early involvement helped to accelerate the project during the early stages, reduce the chance of late-stage revisions and gave us the foresight we needed to predict issues downstream.
“Part of the design process is to make sure we’ve got the balcony variations down to the right number, that we’re not being too ambitious with materials, but also that we’re protecting quality. It’s about getting the balance right and making sure that the value is there in the end product.”
—James Styles, Development Manager at Lendlease, Silvertown Plot 6
The maximise the efficiency of Plot Six, Lendlease and Sisk sought a lightweight solution that would empower MMC, provide greater headroom for residents and ensure built-in fire performance. The solution was to build with a DELTABEAM® frame supporting lightweight hollowcore slabs. This, however, presented a challenge for balcony installation, with no conventional concrete slabs to provide structural support. With help from Peikko, Sapphire’s solution was to install directly on the DELTABEAM® frame using our Remote Locker Device, the first time this has been achieved in the UK.
“The RLD system is great because it speeds up the process of installing balconies. The feedback we’re getting from the contractors is that the process is far simpler to manage.”
—James Styles, Development Manager at Lendlease, Silvertown Plot 6
