The Ram Brewery development comprises over 10,000 sqm of retail, office and community floor space, along with 675 residential units, a two-level basement car park and 15,000 sqm of public open space.
Located at a 3.7-hectare disused brewery site adjacent to the River Wandle in Wandsworth, London, the plot sits on low lying land immediately behind the raised River Thames Tidal Defences. This created a barrier between the site and the River Wandle and also trapped upstream overland fluvial flood flows.
Our flood specialists designed one-way flap values in the river wall to allow flood water back into the river, significantly reducing flood risk across Wandsworth town centre. This also enabled ground levels to be raised across the site, reconnecting the development with the river and enhancing the river environment, while maintaining the standard of tidal flood protection and raising land values.
Our team led the design of the river enhancements, testing the hydraulic impact of a number of options. This included the assessment of building set back distances, which were negotiated down from 8m to 5m through partial realignment of the channel.
As a result of this modelling, it was demonstrated that the River Wandle channel could be set back and enhanced to allow for continuous planting through the introduction of terraces along the full length of the river, without causing increased risk of flooding to the development or elsewhere.
This design was incorporated into the proposals submitted for planning, which were approved by the Local Authority and the Environment Agency, who publicised the scheme as an example of Good Practice.
Client: Minerva
Architect: EPR
