Recycled Porch Prototype, Milton Keynes

Weather-resistant porches made from recycled materials

Background

Southern Housing had a serious issue with front entrance porches in an estate in Milton Keynes. These porches provide bin stores as well as a covered entrance for each home, but had started to fail, requiring continual upgrades and maintenance. The dilapidated timber structures were struggling under the heavy weight of tiled roofs, exacerbated by some ground movement affecting foundations.

Further, at the time of our commission, refuse could only be collected in black bin bags (no wheelie bins), and these were prone to leaking and the occasional rodent visitation.

Our task was to develop a solution that would be in keeping with the existing buildings, maintenance-free and rot-resistant.

Client:
Southern Housing
Team
Archway Building Consultancy and NCL Contractors
Status
Completed
Approach

Circularity and robustness

We knew the only maintenance-free solution would have to be self-finished and weather-resistant. We therefore started to explore opportunities for using recycled materials in replacement structures.

A thorough investigation into the condition of the existing porches made it clear that the canopies should be structurally separated from the enclosure below to remove any impact of the ground movement on the roof structure. Further, replacing the heavy concrete tiles with a recycled plastic tile made the roof significantly lighter.

We undertook extensive research and testing of proprietary recyclable plastic cladding and roof tile products, working alongside manufacturers to make sure they were compatible with the new proposed structure in terms of robustness, aesthetics, viability, feasibility and application on site. This included resident consultation and sample testing on site with the main contractor.

To ensure proposals follow the existing pattern of the streetscape, we designed prototypes to replace both single-entrance and double-entrance porches

Outcome

Following a successful testing period of the initial prototypes on site, replacement porches are being rolled out across the estate. These both smarten the appearance and improve the quality of residents’ homes.