More than 900 Urban Edge doorsets - a specialised brand of Leaderflush Shapland - have been supplied to the prestigious and new mixed-use residential development known as Highbury Gardens, located in Islington's trendy Highbury & Islington area.  Combining style with functionality and affordability, the high quality, bespoke doorsets surpassed all criteria from the challenging brief outlined by the client First Base and project designers: Design Architects; Porphyrios Associates and Executive Architects; John Robertson Architects.

The exciting new development blends traditional architecture with contemporary design and consists of 119, one, two and three bedroom homes and retail units built around a new landscaped courtyard.  Of this, 18 social rented apartments, 39 shared ownership; 31 shared ownership apartments and 31 open market apartments were also created. Strict requirements were in order when it came to the door specification for both residential and public areas.

"This is one of a series of developments by First Base developers providing high quality finishes with a decent living environment at affordable prices. With public safety and welfare in mind, the door specification had to be fit for purpose, encompassing security, durability, longevity, fire resistance, aesthetics as well as cost considerations," explains Les Joel, Construction Director at Mansell Special Projects.

Charles Ellis, Project Director at John Robertson Architects comments: "We have used Leaderflush Shapland doors extensively over the years and are always confident that they will provide the quality that our clients demand, and this was no exception. Mansell Special Projects entered into negotiations with the manufacturer and the Urban Edge range was chosen as the most appropriate solution, satisfying all
criteria."

Urban Edge offers a range of doorsets that meet the performance requirements of high volume, city living apartments, providing an extensive product range with numerous design options to suit all budgets and specifications.  As such, the manufacturer was aptly positioned to supply bespoke performance doorsets that included crown cut American Red Oak veneered doors providing internal fire protection. 

Key to the Urban Edge specification though, was the use of EnduraCor within the doorsets; the cost-effective engineered performance core is both versatile and stable, offering severe duty rating, up to 30RwdB sound reduction, plus a fire rating of up to 60 minutes.  Manufactured from manmade materials - fire retardant facings and flaxboard - it brings considerable benefits to designers, specifiers and end users alike.  Shown to be one hundred times more durable than the more traditional multi-layered chipboard, the highly cost-effective solution can significantly reduce 'whole life' repair and maintenance costs of doorsets; ideally suited for high capacity living areas by adding durability to doorsets.

Sean Cook, Head of Design at First Base said: "All the Urban Edge doorsets are FSC certified, ensuring that the timber specified for Highbury Gardens is from well managed and sustainable sources - helping the project design to meet Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

"We are always impressed with the contemporary designs Urban Edge can offer, that is continuously matched by functionality, affordability and a high level of technical support.  It is for these reasons, we have frequently returned to Urban Edge and embedded the doorset specification into our city living apartments."