History

In the heart of Harringay, Finsbury Park has a rich history of immigration and sport. Located near Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates Stadium, Finsbury Park benefits from a diverse culture of people from across the globe, open green spaces and opportunities for live music, such as London’s Wireless Festival.

Woodberry Down is a housing development in Finsbury Park fitted with 228 of Sapphire’s cantilever Glide-On Cassette balconies and the opportunity for more housing in the area can only bolster the vibrant nature of the area itself.

Challenge

Woodberry Down was presented with various challenges from the design stage. Firstly, due to a section of this project being designed to feature affordable housing, a slight design variance was required. The floor build-up in this section meant that the decking height was different and so the fascia element would have been inconsistent. Furthermore, one elevation on this project was a challenge due to a major tree in the way of the project and town planning not allowing this tree to be cut down.

Solution

To solve these challenges, several elements were included from both a design perspective and an installation perspective. To solve the challenge with differences in fascia elements, a screen-printed design feature was included on the balcony fascias to keep the design visually consistent across the building. Secondly, to avoid the elevation of the building where a major tree was an obstacle, Sapphire’s Glide-On™ Cassette® balconies were used, which when lifted could avoid the tree completely.

Rigid. Ready. Right.

Step 1

Cast-in anchors were cast into the slab & incorporated thermal break connections offering superior rigidity to the balconies.

Step 2

Cassette® balconies were preassembled offsite, including the balustrades, decking & soffits.

Step 3

Cassette® balconies were transported with balconies ‘nested’ onto each pallet making transport both cost-effective & safe. Balconies were pre-slung offsite and ready for installation upon arrival.

Step 4

Once lifted into position, the Cassettes® simply Glide-On™ to the pre-erected support arms, before completing the simple mechanical fixings.

Manufacturer: Sapphire Balconies Ltd, 11 Arkwright Road, Reading, RG2 0LU 0344 88 00 553 sales@sapphire.eu.com

https://balconies.global/

Reference: Glide-On™ aluminium Cassette® balconies with Crystal® frameless, structural glass

Balcony Anchor: M30 cast-in anchors incorporating thermal breaks

Arms: 2-piece galvanised steel

Cassette® Structure: Standard 400mm modular Glide-On™ Cassette® balconies

Soffits: Polyester powder-coated aluminium controlled draining soffits

Deck finish: MyDek RAL 7016 aluminium decking fixed with hidden clips

Toprail: 27 x 23mm (nominal) ‘U’ shaped satin anodised aluminium capping to the top of the glass

Guarding: 21.5mm clear toughened laminated heat-soaked structural glass panels PVB interlayer

Base fixing: Mechanically fixed to Cassette®

Fascias: Polyester powder-coated aluminium fascia trim to conceal glass fixings/edge of balcony frame