Sapphire Delivers Glide-On™ Balconies to Support Regeneration at Bromley-by-Bow
As part of the Imperial Clockhouse development transformation in Bromley-by-Bow, Sapphire has supplied 79 Glide-On™ Aluminium Cassette® balconies featuring elegant vertical bar balustrades. Collaborating with Danescroft Land Ltd and Assael Architecture, Sapphire played a key role in realising the vision for a revitalised district centre, bringing affordable homes and new community spaces to a long-underused site.
Reimagining a Complex Site
The Imperial Clockhouse project regenerates a former scaffolding yard and a group of disused low-rise industrial buildings that have been vacant since 2011. The development is surrounded by community infrastructure and aims to breathe new life into the area by delivering affordable homes and commercial space.
Thanks to early involvement Sapphire was able to streamline Danescroft’s balcony journey by rationalising balcony design to meet their aspiration of a modern building aesthetic whilst meeting strict London Home Building Standards and NHBC guidance.
Glide-On™ Balconies: Rationalised, Elegant, and Efficient
Sapphire joined the project early to help address these constraints through smart balcony design. The company’s innovative Aluminium Cassette® balcony decks are approximately half the weight of traditional steel alternatives. This significant weight saving means fewer connection brackets are required, reducing penetrations into the building façade. Fewer penetrations result in a lower risk of cold bridging, damp ingress, and associated costs or remedial work, while also simplifying the construction process, offering a lightweight, cost-effective solution that aligned with the project’s design aspirations and regulatory requirements.
By streamlining balcony design through early-stage rationalisation and embracing offsite manufacturing, Sapphire helped reduce complexity, improve quality control, and accelerate delivery. The consistent design of the patterned vertical bars provided architectural appeal and supported construction efficiency, key for a project with a high percentage of affordable housing.
A Smarter Way to Build
Utilising tools such as BIM, CAD, and modern methods of construction (MMC), Sapphire ensured seamless integration from design through to installation. Each Cassette® balcony was manufactured offsite to exacting standards and then installed quickly and efficiently onsite using Sapphire’s Glide-On™ technology.
Offsite Manufacturing, Onsite Simplicity
Each Glide-On™ Cassette® balcony was preassembled offsite in Sapphire’s controlled manufacturing environment, ensuring consistent quality, enhanced safety, and precise delivery scheduling. Offsite production eliminates the need for multiple trades on site, avoids storage complications, and means balconies arrive fully assembled and ready to install, saving time and reducing site congestion.
Designed to Deliver
The vertical bar balustrade design brought architectural appeal and uniformity to the development while keeping fabrication efficient. Early design collaboration enabled Sapphire to support the project team in simplifying details and optimising manufacturing processes via BIM and MMC practices.
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