Kensington Odeon Cinema, London, W8

Situated within the prestigious Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the site was surrounded by upscale residential properties, adding to the complexity and significance of the project.

Our scope of works encompassed the demolition of the former cinema, temporary support of a Listed facade, and the construction of one of the largest basements in west London.

Leveraging the expertise of our in-house engineers at RKD, a sympathetic propping scheme was designed to facilitate bulk excavation, support sensitive surrounding properties, and retain the historic facade.

The temporary works were meticulously planned to be removed upon completion and repurposed for future projects, aligning with our commitment to sustainability and circular economy goals.

Innovative engineering solutions were employed throughout the project, including the use of tower cranes supported on plunge columns and a top-down construction approach in a section of the site to optimise program efficiencies.

Post-tensioned structures were also utilised to meet the architectural design requirements, showcasing our technical capabilities and engineering diversity.

The former Odeon Kensington Cinema redevelopment project serves as a testament to our scale of capabilities, engineering strengths, and commitment to delivering high-quality, innovative solutions within the most sensitive areas in London.

We were awarded Performance Beyond Compliance from Considerate Constructors Scheme.

42,000 man-hours were required for this project which was carried out without an incident or accident.

Throughout the course of the works, we successfully reached over 30 complex party wall agreements.

We reduced the programme by increasing productivity through the revision of the logistics strategy, using top-down construction to facilitate additional areas, and allowing the basement to be excavated from 2 grab locations.

Effective sustainability and circular economy measures were carried out - with over 195,414t of waste generated, we diverted 99.9% away from landfill, gaining BREEAM credits, with 96.6% of the diverted waste being reused or recycled.

During the soft strip, we retained interior architectural features, which were dismantled and carefully stored off-site, whilst salvaging external architectural features for re-use in the completed development.

Reuse of a piling mat and stone to create a laydown and processing yard from other John F Hunt sites, crushing materials for use on-site, and the retention of 2000 stones, including marble and granite, for re-use on the future development.

Rainwater harvesting for site water requirements.

Reuse of expired PPE as planters to increase biodiversity.