How Precast Panels Help Simplify Construction on Constrained City Plots

Urban construction is rarely constrained by design ambition alone. More often, the real limitations are access, space, sequencing, and risk. On tight city-centre plots, traditional construction methods struggle to cope with restricted deliveries, lack of storage, and the impact on neighbouring buildings. In these conditions, success depends less on individual components and more on how structure, façade, and logistics are integrated into a single buildable strategy.

This was precisely the challenge at Parsons Green.

Our Peterborough Road project sits on a narrow urban plot with limited access and neighbouring residential buildings on multiple sides. Only one delivery vehicle can access the site at any time, requiring partial street closures, and there is no available space for on-site storage. With sixteen party walls and a towpath running alongside the development, managing disruption was a critical consideration for the programme. Several contractors stepped away from the project at an early stage, unable to identify a construction approach that worked within these limitations.

Deprom’s Role: Rethinking the Façade as Part of the Structure

Deprom became involved at an early stage alongside Legendre UK to help rethink how the building could actually be delivered.

The structure adopts a hybrid approach, combining precast and cast-in-situ concrete. This opened an opportunity to reconsider the traditional role of the façade. Rather than treating it as a non-structural element added later in the programme, the team adopted a load-bearing three-layer sandwich panel system, allowing the façade to become an active component of the structural strategy.

This decision fundamentally changed the way the building was delivered.

By taking this approach, a number of in-situ reinforced concrete columns were removed from the perimeter frame. The panels take on structural load, reducing reliance on perimeter beams and simplifying the overall construction sequence. This shift has a direct impact on buildability, particularly on a site where access, time, and space are all heavily constrained.

Logistics as a Controlled Process, Not a Risk

With no storage footprint available, this project relies on just-in-time delivery of fully finished precast elements. Panels are produced off-site and delivered only when required, allowing them to be installed directly from the delivery vehicle. This removes the need for external scaffolding entirely and significantly reduces disruption to neighbouring properties and the adjacent towpath, turning a potential logistical risk into a controlled and predictable process.

Production of the precast elements is well underway, covering load-bearing three-layer façade panels as well as beams, columns, parapets, stair flights, and landings, with a total of 213 elements planned. The façade incorporates 35 mm IBSTOCK Niveus brick slips, chosen to provide a clean, consistent finish that complements the local architectural context. Early elements have already been successfully produced and approved, giving confidence as the project continues to progress on site.

Quality remains central to the approach. Factory-controlled production ensures consistent brickwork and concrete finishes, removing weather-related risks and on-site variability. This allows the building envelope to become secure and weather-tight earlier in the programme than would typically be possible using traditional construction methods.The Result: Predictability Where It Matters Most

As the project continues on site, the benefits of treating the façade as a structural element are becoming clear. The programme is progressing ahead of expectations, with significant time savings anticipated and no requirement for external scaffolding.

What this project demonstrates so well is that precast sandwich panels aren’t just for tall buildings, but that they also deliver real value on sites where space, access, and timing are the real challenges.