reForm Architects attended the topping out ceremony of our 18 unit social housing scheme at Avondale Square just off the Old Kent Road in Southwark, London. The main contractor Osborne, has been working on the site since February. Traditionally the topping out signifies the placement of the last structural beam, or the pouring of the last reinforced slab, and in this case it was the latter. The seven storey concrete frame consisting of a mixture of prefabricated concrete columns and in-situ concrete slabs has risen to its highest point.

The £7 million project will not only create high quality, affordable homes for the local people, but will also provide local residents with a brand new community centre and estates office.

The scheme has been very well received by the local community. One local resident said, ”The project brings a great relief to us. The old building needed raising down and a new imaginative replacement put in place. The level of care, politeness and commitment from Osborne to keep a clean work area was phenomenal. It has amazed me to see the amount of materials and machinery delivered to the site, all of which was conducted with the greatest level of care, safety and consideration to residents.”

Dhruv Patel, Chairman of the Children & Community Services Committee at the City of London Corporation said, “I was delighted to be presented with the trowel today, symbolising the topping out of Twelve Acres House.  The City of London Corporation has recently committed to building 3,700 homes over the next decade.  These 18 homes will be an important step on the path towards our goal of providing high quality, affordable homes to Londoners who need them.”

Following the ceremony, the reForm office was given a tour of the scheme and with the frame complete, the interlocking nature of the apartments are really taking shape. The outlines of the generous balconies were indicated by the recessed slab zones and living spaces could be visualised between the concrete columns. The complete frame also gave us an indication of its height and size, and as you can see from the photos below taken on the 5th floor, the views across central London will be fantastic.