Nova Victoria
Nova Victoria was a large-scale project undertaken by Landsec, the UK’s largest commercial property development and investment company. Described as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Landsec’s redevelopment of SW1, Nova Victoria consisted of three large buildings spanning over 697,000 sq ft. These buildings hosted not only quality office accommodation, but an array of shops, restaurants and luxurious modern apartments.
Nova Victoria
Starting in January 2015 with a value of £4m, at the heart of the Nova Victoria project was a landscaped public quarter. This would accommodate heavy pedestrian traffic, making it a particularly high-risk area in terms of fire protection. As a central point in the development, any fire emerging from this point would constitute a major risk.
CLM Fireproofing was responsible for implementing a thorough passive fire protection strategy, which would involve the application of intumescent paint and fire stopping solutions throughout the public quarter. This project offered varying complexities, such as triple and double-height basement penetrations caused by the laying of pipes.
With so many constituent elements involved in Nova Victoria, a key challenge would be to ensure that any service penetrations caused by engineering works were appropriately sealed. For instance, the installation of a natural air plenum would require extensive fire stopping to prevent flames and smoke from passing through ducts. Fortunately, we joined the Nova Victoria project during the initial design phase. This meant that we could incorporate such key design elements into our strategy from the outset.
From the start of the project, our team was proactive in organising effective collaboration between key trades. This meant that before construction began, contractors with a pivotal role in the project had reached a clear consensus on what roles, responsibilities and requirements would deliver the project as effectively as possible. This collaboration, alongside our procurement of fully compliant fire stopping, ensured the project remained efficient and cost-effective over the entire 4-year duration.