The Solarlux sliding glass system allows the balconies to remain fully exposed to the elements or, with the panels fully closed, gives the tenants use of the space during bad weather

Much of the building was prefabricated and assembled onsite. This approach cuts down on onsite waste and facilitates a speedier build, while construction in factory conditions rather than onsite protects against weather damage and delays and mitigates towards higher quality across the board. On the York Street elevation, the design team sought to recapture something of the street’s Georgian heritage. “Brick was very important to the feel of the street,” says Roche, “and important to the residents too, so we wanted to use brick, though in a modern way.” Techrete Group designed, manufactured and erected the architectural precast concrete cladding used to achieve the desired effect. On York Street, the brick-faced panels comprise a 25mm brick slip on a 150mm thick concrete backing panel and incorporate 60mm thick foil faced rigid board insulation. The insulation is fixed directly to the back of the precast panels before they leave the factory. These precast facades, which are non-structural, were then erected onsite. The remaining wall build-up consists of a 100mm cavity, a 75mm stud with rockwool infill, 12.5mm plasterboard and a skim finish.