Project case study
220 Blackfriars Road
Independent waterproofing design carried from RIBA Stage 2 through construction monitoring on JTRE London's Southwark scheme by EPR Architects, so the same designer owned the strategy from concept to the last pour.
The scheme
220 Blackfriars Road sits on a tight Southwark plot between the South Bank rail viaducts and the commercial corridor running north to the Thames, developed by JTRE London and designed by EPR Architects. CLW was appointed to provide independent waterproofing design from RIBA Stage 2 through construction monitoring: one brief carried across the full design and delivery sequence rather than handed off at tender.
What CLW did
Stage 2 onwards. The strategy was developed against the BS 8102:2022 Grade 3 requirement that the building’s commercial use demanded: a dry internal environment with no seepage or damp patches tolerated. Risk assessment, system selection, the performance specification and the inspection regime were all documented under a single design philosophy, so the warranty position and the construction sequence stayed legible to every party on the team.
Through construction. CLW stayed on as the monitoring designer, so there was no gap between what was specified and what was witnessed on site. On a constrained urban plot with rail infrastructure alongside, the detailing problems that matter are found at the interfaces, and the person who designed the interface is the right person to inspect it.
What the architect said
“I worked with CLW on the 220 Blackfriars Road project and found their team to be very competent and professional. Their technical expertise on waterproofing design was valuable and allowed us to overcome some complex challenges.”
Miguel Bronze, Project Director, EPR Architects
What this project illustrates
- Continuity from Stage 2 to monitoring is the cheapest insurance on a basement: the strategy, the specification and the inspection are written by the same hand. See the waterproofing consultant’s role across the RIBA stages.
- Architects benefit directly from an independent specialist on the team: the waterproofing stops being a liability they carry by default. See the architect’s waterproofing trap.
Project credit: EPR Architects · JTRE London.
Working on a comparable scheme?
Independent waterproofing design from RIBA Stage 2 through construction monitoring. Defensible, document-led, contractor-agnostic.