Mott MacDonald Design Consultant for Brighton Marina

Mott MacDonald is design and planning consultant for a major residential scheme for Brighton Marina, which received planning permission on 30 June. The £235 million project, being developed by Brunswick Developments, will help regenerate a part of the existing marina within the context of the Special Planning Guidance applicable to the area.

The project includes around 853 residential units, 40% of which will be social housing, an iconic high rise tower of around 40 storeys and several smaller towers of some nine to fifteen storeys plus retail and public spaces that will integrate into the marina environment. Most of the development will sit over a former spending beach - a beach designed to absorb wave energy and 'calm' the marina - which is being replaced by a wave absorption chamber, an excellent example of land creation.

Mott MacDonald is providing all civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, maritime, traffic and waste management expertise for the development which includes a number of challenging aspects such as designing the platform above the spending beach. "Mitigating the impact of the platform on the hydraulics of the marina's adjoining harbour has been particularly difficult," comments Mott MacDonald director Leon Higgins. "Our advanced building sciences team used modelling tools for the hydraulic studies and for other aspects such as sea spray modelling, wave overtopping impacts, wind comfort studies, day lighting and shadowing, to solve some pretty unique problems." Located in a particularly exposed maritime environment, the main tower is also a complex piece of engineering. Mott MacDonald's engineers will be working with architects Wilkinson Eyre to provide an external finish which will not only be robust enough to withstand the elements but will also be cost-effective and cleanable.

Brunswick developments decided early on that they wanted the development to be at the forefront of sustainability and are committed to achieving an EcoHomes rating of "Excellent" for all dwellings, a status achieved by only 2% of all UK developments. "Sustainability has been a key driver throughout the design," explains Mott MacDonald mechanical engineer Clive Silva. "And we've been working on a number of "green" initiatives including CHP, wind, solar, solar thermal and tidal power technology for the development's services."

The scheme, which will add 11 buildings to the marina, is expected to be completed by 2011.

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Posted 15/08/06

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