The Kemp Porter buildings at Wales Farm Road – the ‘Perfume Factory’ as it was known at the time – are a state-of-the art halls of residence building, providing over 730 student beds in 603 cluster rooms, alongside 85 Build to Rent apartments.
The student accommodation sits in two high-rise blocks including the 31-storey (96m) brick-clad centrepiece tower.
It was originally planned to construct the tower’s façade using a modular solution, however the client anticipated late-stage changes and, therefore we developed a traditional build methodology which would allow for alterations, without affecting the completion date. The traditional build meant installing an innovative climbing screen around each structure to protect workers on the tight central London site.
The project has since gone on to be recognised for its own achievements, after being crowned the tallest traditional masonry tower in the UK at the time of topping out.
The development also includes 85 residential units, developed as Private Rented Sector accommodation available to key workers from Imperial College.
