Commissioned and developed by The PeabodyTrust, and designed and built by a partnership between architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris,Wates Construction and Yorkon, Raines Court is currently the UK's largest affordable housing project to be built using modular construction.

Raines Court is The Peabody Trust's second modular housing project. It aims to take forward the success of the acclaimed Murray Grove housing scheme to improve speed and efficiency further. The apartments also demonstrate the flexibility of modular construction, which can offer architectural variety to relate the building to its context and to maximise the available space on site to the benefit of the tenants and the developer. It provides larger housing units than at Murray Grove, each with integral balconies to the 2-bedroom apartments, and private entrance lobbies.

This project is pushing forward the use of modular technology by increasing the level of off-site construction, enabling The Peabody Trust to build new, affordable homes more rapidly, and cost effectively. The scheme demonstrates how high quality architecture and design can be achieved using modular construction, to the benefit of the developer, the building occupiers and the local community.

The 6-storey apartment block consists of a T-shape on plan in which the modules are configured to create a private landscaped courtyard at the rear.

The 3.8 m wide modules are used to create eight living/working units at ground floor with the workspace acting as a buffer to the road. Above are five stories of 2-bedroom apartments with a wing of 3-bedroom family accommodation to the rear. A typical 2-bedroom apartment comprises two modules, one with living/dining/ kitchen area and the other with bedrooms and generous bathroom, based on a open plan layout to maximise the usable living space.

The contract period was only 50 weeks from start on site, saving 20 weeks relative to traditional building. The innovative PPC 2000 contract agreement was used. It is a Housing Forum demonstration project.

The 127 room-sized modules are constructed using light steel framing to the Yorkon specification. Generally, the modules are arranged in pairs to create a single apartment. The length of the 3.8 m wide modules varied from 9.6 to 11.6 m, and alternate modules incorporated an integral balcony. The modules are only 3 m high, allowing for a 600 mm floor-to ceiling space. Structurally, the modules are designed to be self-supported by their corner columns. Stability of the 6-storey building is provided by the group of modules acting together and supplemented by bracing. Erection of the modules took place over a 4 week period.

The façade to the main street is clad with lightweight ship-lap profiled zinc panels, with zinc cover strips to mask jointing. The panels were clipped onto a sub-frame directly attached to the modules in manufacture.

The courtyard elevations were finished with vertical larch timber cladding to add a degree of ‘warmth' to the finish of the external envelope. Each apartment has its own unique colour to form a striking composition within the front and rear façades of each block. A patent glazed roof overhang on the sixth floor provides shelter from the weather for the access decks. Square glass screens along the walkway provide further protection outside the entrance to each apartment.

Key information

Number of storeys	6
Modules	127
New-build home

Raines Court Creates Affordable Housing in North London