Working near water 1 >

Riverside development is always an exciting challenge! The St Hilda’s Front of College development in Oxford, flanked by the River Cherwell was even more so.

The site of development is along a particularly complex ecological corridor of the River Cherwell system. This required careful stakeholder management to balance sustainable environmental intervention with design intent. 

During the completion of our flood risk assessment, we facilitated early engagement with the Environment Agency, the Ecology team at Oxford City, the design team and the construction team.

Maximum flood water levels were agreed with the Environment Agency at the outset of the project. The compensation volume was calculated using a 3D model of the new building. This gave the design team a clear understanding of the risk of flooding, compensation volumes and building levels.

Our flood risk assessment maintained the design intent from the project architect. Gort Scott Architects were keen to maintain a brick finish on the river side whilst allowing water to percolate through the wall.