Edward Street Quarter, Brighton

Location

Brighton

Main contractor

McLaren Construction Group

Sub contractor

NA Curtain Walling

Architects

Buckley Gray Yeoman

Products

Corium Brick Cladding

Overview

Edward Street Quarter is a 30,000m2 development providing residential, retail, office and leisure space across six buildings in central Brighton. The project was built on a brownfield site, previously occupied by a nine-storey office building. Commissioned by Socius, First Base and Patron Capital, the clients aimed to provide a modern and high-quality mixed-use site, drawing design inspiration from the eclectic street scene and architecture in Brighton.

Taylor Maxwell worked with architects Buckley Gray Yeoman to assist them in specifying a matt blue glazed Corium brick cladding tile (manufactured by Wienerberger) to a large commercial building in the development. Sub-contractors NA Curtain Walling installed the brick cladding, creating striking window reveals across the facade of Block A. The Edward Street Quarter site was managed by contractors McLaren Construction Group.

Concept

It was important to the architects that a coherent architectural language was used between all six buildings, with subtle variations utilised to create distinction across the facades. With three commercial and three residential buildings on the site, the design team also wanted to ensure a visual distinction between the two block types.

A high-quality material palette was selected for each of the blocks, with a simple, robust and timeless style of architecture utilised. After material discussions with the architects, Taylor Maxwell supplied a matt blue glazed Corium brick cladding tile to Block A of the site. This matt blue tile was used around the recessed windows to create a colourful and distinctive contrast to the buff brickwork used on the rest of the facade. The tiles were laid in a vertical stack bond, to emphasise the height of the seven-storey block and draw the eye up to the large double height windows.

Sustainability was carefully considered throughout the design process, with a focus on the environmental impact of the materials and layout of the buildings. The commercial blocks were all designed to feature high ceilings and large windows, to allow as much light as possible internally, both reducing the need for indoor lighting and improving the health and wellbeing of the building’s occupants. The Corium brick cladding was able to offer further sustainability benefits, using on average 75% less raw materials and installation times up to the four times faster than traditional brickwork. Upon completion, the development was awarded a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

Completion

Edward Street Quarter now provides Brighton with a range of public spaces, 168 homes, workspaces and independent cafes and restaurants. The new neighbourhood offers 110,000 square feet of Grade A office space, the largest amount to be bought to Brighton in over 25 years. Since completion, the project has been awarded ‘Commercial Development of the Year’ at the 2023 Insider South East Property Awards.

To find out more about Corium brick cladding, click here.