Client: Gallions Housing Association
Type of works: supply of type K Isokorb^® concrete-to-concrete connections.

The nine-story rotunda building at Phoenix Point, Thamesmead, is a new landmark south of the Thames. Designed for Gallions Housing Association, it provides a mix of 47 affordable three-bedroom homes, along with one and two-bedroom flats, for either rent or shared ownership. The rotunda is being built on the site of the locally iconic old Boiler House, a discontinued community heating scheme demolished in 2007, which during its lifetime was the second largest community heating system in the UK. The fan-assisted, ducted, warm-air heating and hot-water system used to be powered by six gas-fired boilers, each larger than a double-decker bus and designed to push water around 72miles of pipes.

However, like many housing developments at the time, homes were prone to suffer from poor thermal performance, often made worse by open balconies, and the resulting cold and damp conditions led to widespread condensation and mould related problems. It is perhaps ironic that today, the new Phoenix Point development, having risen from the footprint of the old Boiler House, incorporates the best of today’s technology for combating thermal bridging problems through use of the Isokorb^® thermal break module.

The type K module, for concrete-to–concrete connections, has been incorporated into the reinforced concrete frame rotunda building; and the internal and external balconies within the circular profile and central atrium have really allowed the Isokorb^® to demonstrate its versatility. A clever technique has been employed on site, whereby each module is divided into the appropriate length of section required and then effectively pieced together and dropped in to fit the required polygonal shape. The Isokorb^® is extremely lightweight and easily handled by one man. Any open wedge-shaped areas are then filled with foam on site, or insulation is cut out and inserted.