Mariners Quay, Old Town Docks, Newport

Metframe Helps Drive Sustainable Housing Development in Wales

The environmental credentials of Metsec’s Metframe system played a key role in the Mariners Quay,  development in Newport, Wales achieving Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5.

Newport’s Mariners Quay is Wales’ largest sustainable new housing development. In total about 1,500 new properties will be built in the area.

Phase 1 of the scheme, a £15.1M project, involved building 86 apartments, plus 15 mews and terraced houses along Newport’s riverfront, all of which were allocated for affordable housing.

This highly sustainable development achieved Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH) Level 5 thanks to its innovative design and construction. The homes also incorporate a range of environmental features, including an energy centre with wood-chip biomass boiler, along with water-efficient fittings and rainwater harvesting that help reduce water consumption.

Leadbitter (now Bouygues UK) constructed the apartment buildings for Seren Group using Metsec’s lightweight steel building frame system, Metframe. Atkin Trade Specialists carried out the assembly and installation of the Metsec design.

“The Metframe system was ideal for Mariners Quay,” explains Roy Burns, Managing Director of Metsec’s Lightweight Structural Systems Division. “The pre-panelised system is fabricated off-site and simply bolted together on site, offering a zero-waste and low carbon alternative to traditional concrete and steel frames for low and medium height structures. It also has a high thermal and acoustic performance – to achieve CfSH Level 5, the apartment buildings’ acoustics had to be 8dB above Building Regulations.

“A big plus for the project was the speed of installation. Each storey typically takes less than two weeks to build and the system works with either steel joisted or concrete floors. Joisted floors result in a lighter structure but concrete floors, such as those used at Mariners Quay, generally provide a higher level of acoustic performance and fire protection.”

Take a look at Metsec’s pre-panelised steel-framing Metframe system