A room with a view

The latest ‘must have’ for residential and commercial properties is a roof terrace. It’s easy to see why. Buildings that offer only humdrum views of other similarly dull buildings from their lower levels are magically transformed into hot properties when they can boast spectacular terrace views across a city skyline.

And it’s not only the views that make terraces so appealing to residents and tenants alike. Many developers are switching their communal amenities from the ground floor to the terrace and creating a funky, ‘in the sky’ al fresco environment.

Lounge areas with soft furnishings, barbecue ranges, TVs and movie projectors plus lots of greenery and water features can all be part of the package in new dwellings and offices. A bit of design imagination brings a luxurious lifestyle, plus all the fun of a penthouse flat, much more within the range of young urbanites. And as the Drifters sang all those years ago, at night the stars put on a show for free.

Happily, there’s environmental upside too. In London, the Mayor’s London Plan stipulates that major developments must be as green as possible, which has led to a flowering of roof gardens and green walls and roofs. Sustainability is boosted if rain water can be captured and used for the foliage, rather than discharged into storm drains.

Rotherhithe New Road

A £40m residential development in Bermondsey is a good example of modern sky-line living

The 18-storey tower and a lower rise 16-storey building has large roof terraces on the 10th and 16th floors. The main terrace on the 10th floor has a variety of surfaces for residents to enjoy - from artificial grass and green roof to paving and decking. The 16th floor terrace incorporates planters and decking for a contemporary feel.

To create the decking areas for this very contemporary urban space, the roof terraces were designed as a raised podium construction on an inverted roof system. Kinley’s Terrafina Composite decking was used to create the surface.

In addition, support pedestals made an adjustable structure under both the decking and paving areas. AluExcel aluminium edging was also used to shape the landscape by effectively delineating between the different surfaces.

Kinley’s Terrafina decking and support structures made installation quick and easy. The decking panels clamped together creating invisible joins in no time at all.

The main challenge for this project was the construction depth. With very little depth available from the roof surface to door threshold heights, the shallow installation requirements of Kinley’s Terrafina decking enabled the design to be implemented as planned. This was supported by using Spirapave 12mm pedestals as part of the installation.

North West Cambridge

A 150-hectare development for Cambridge University with homes for key workers, private use and post-graduate student accommodation, also features roof terraces with long walkways lined with Atria tiles.

One of the walkways was built on top of extensive mechanical and electrical pipework so a Kinley bespoke steel pipe cover system was needed to support the tiles.

To build an effective platform and outdoor space, Kinley can provide high-grade aluminium Raaft or Terrafina support joists, RoofTray surface support trays or adjustable pedestals.

Using this support system overcomes a number of key design and construction challenges as the height-adjustable decking and paving pedestals are easy to use and engineered for high performance.

Kinley provides innovative and superior quality products to create inspiring gardens and outdoor places people enjoy.

Learn more about our product ranges.

Be inspired by our projects https://www.kinley.co.uk/projects

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