Phase 1 of the White City M&S development by leading property developer, St James, part of the Berkeley Group, features 342 balconies designed and manufactured using Sapphire’s innovative offsite-manufactured Glide-On™ aluminium Cassette® system.

To complement the new apartment buildings’ intricate façade detailing Sapphire created a bespoke balcony package with Crystal® frameless, structural glass balustrades. As well as meeting the project’s design challenges, Sapphire’s team maintained clear and frequent communication with the supply chain throughout. Additionally, the use of Sapphire’s Balcony Passport System, a quality control app, provided a complete traceable history of each balcony, from assembly to final quality acceptance, delivery and installation, thereby reducing the potential for snagging at the point of client handover.

The prestigious White City project specified Sapphire’s Glide-On™ Cassette® balconies with clear toughened laminated structural glass, polyester powder coated aluminium fascia trim to conceal glass fixings/edge of the balcony frame, controlled draining soffits, and composite decking fixed with hidden clips. While the balcony units were preassembled offsite, cast-in anchors and incorporated thermal break connections offering superior rigidity to the balconies, were cast into the building slab. Contractors working on site reported that the anchors were on a par with the best in the industry.

Sapphire’s offsite manufacture and storage package, which meant balconies could be kept in storage for an extra six months due to project delays, was seen as a huge positive to the project. When they were required on site, the preassembled balconies, including balustrades, decking and soffits, were transported with balconies ‘nested’ onto each pallet, making transportation both cost-effective and safe. Balconies were pre-slung offsite and ready for fast and easy installation upon arrival. Once lifted into position, the Cassettes® simply Glide-On™ to the pre-erected galvanised steel support arms before completing the simple mechanical fixings.

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