Projects
Waltham Forest Town Hall London
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Waltham Forest Town Hall is a Portland Stone-clad, Grade Il listed building designed by Philip Dalton Hepworth in 1929. Incorporating Art Deco & Nordic Classicism styles, the building’s construction was completed in 1941. The basement contained steel-doored bunkers which was used as civil defence quarters in the latter years of WWII.
PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
The building was extensively refurbished between 2021 – 2022. As well as carrying out a series of concrete repair works to the upper parts of the building, the basement areas were suffering from moisture ingress causing the area to be damp & wet rendering large parts of the basement space as unusable.
The primary goal of the refurbishment of the town hall as a whole was to create a fit-for-purpose modern workspace with increased capacity to house between 500 – 800 staff. As a listed heritage building, the repairs and restoration had to retain many of the original internal features.
In order to create a Grade 3 (habitable space) throughout the basement areas, the waterproofing system installed by Gunite Waterproofing incorporated a Sika® Cavity Drain System. A series of 5 no. sump pump chambers had to be constructed within the existing floor slabs to enable any liquid water to flow. via perimeter drainage channels in to the sumps themselves.
Following the installation of the cavity drain layer across the floor slab, a 40mm thick cementitious screed (Sika® Hardtop). As well as major structural modifications within the building to create ramps instead of staircases, an accessible route in to the basement for cyclists and other building users was facilitated. Fast forward to 2023 and this listed building’s remodelling culminated in the project being named as winner of the RIBA East London Regional Awards.
OUTCOME
The previously wet & damp basement within the building has now been upgraded to a Grade C environment compliant with BS8102:2022, housing a combination of plant, post rooms, cycle storage with shower facilities and usable office space providing a rejuvenated structure that will last many more years.
OFFICE & COMMERCIAL | RETAIL | LEISURE | HOTELS | RESIDENTIAL | EDUCATION | HEALTHCARE
Third-Party Accreditations
Whether re-waterproofing an existing structure OR making a new one waterproof, you need to be able to find an experienced partner who you can trust to deliver your requirements to the right design. All of our clients benefit from our 30+ years of knowledge & experience in delivering innovative, bespoke and cost-effective waterproofing solutions complemented by exemplary customer service.
