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Slingsby Place, Covent Garden — Structural Redevelopment

Strip-out and structural works behind retained façades in the heart of Covent Garden — a complex central-London build with tower-crane installation, tight logistics and neighbours on every side.
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Strip-out
Full internal demolition
WC2
Covent Garden, London
Structural
New slabs & foundations
Façades
Retained throughout
Slingsby Place sits within The Yards, the pedestrian courtyards between Long Acre and St Martin's Lane in Covent Garden. The project took an existing building back to its shell — a full internal strip-out and demolition, structural works behind retained façades and a new base for the next phase of the build — on one of the tightest sites in central London. The works were led by Martin Hickey, now Craftex's Preconstruction Director, as Project Director from start to finish.
Structural works, single point of control.
A building rebuilt from the inside out.
Project Overview
Every façade stayed in place while everything behind it was taken out. Demolition, temporary works, structural works and crane operations ran as one programme under one accountable team — no gaps between packages, one sequence, one number to call. On a site with neighbours on every side, that control is what kept the work safe and on track.
The historic street and courtyard elevations were held by a full-height temporary works and scaffold system while floors and internal structure were removed level by level. New slabs and foundations were then formed at the base of the building, and a tower crane was erected inside the footprint to carry the next phase of the build.
A complex central-London redevelopment within The Yards, Covent Garden: strip-out, demolition and structural works behind retained façades, delivered with tower-crane installation and tightly controlled logistics, all coordinated through a single point of accountability.
How It Works
Plan. Build. Deliver.
Step Three
Handover
Stable, supported shell ready for the new structure
Single point of contact throughout — one programme, no interface risk
Façades retained and protected throughout.
Neighbours, shops and restaurants kept open around the site
03
Step Two
The Works
Soft strip and floor-by-floor demolition behind retained façades
Propping, edge protection and access scaffolds at every level
New slabs and foundations formed at the base of the building
Tower crane erected inside the footprint, lifted in from the street
02
Step One
Preconstruction & Planning
Structural surveys of the existing building and façades
Temporary works design for façade retention signed off before demolition
Demolition sequence and programme set floor by floor
Logistics, crane lifts and road closures agreed with the local authority
01
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The street and courtyard elevations had to stay exactly where they were. Before any demolition, the façades were surveyed and a full-height temporary works system was designed and installed to hold them. Demolition was then sequenced floor by floor, so the retained walls were supported at every stage and never left standing on their own.

Keeping the façades standing

Covent Garden gives a construction site almost no room for error: pedestrian courtyards, strict delivery windows and neighbours on every wall. Before work started we completed a full pre-construction phase — surveys of the existing structure, a demolition sequence, a temporary works design and a logistics plan agreed with the local authority — so every delivery and every lift was planned in advance.

Planning the build on a live street

On site the work ran as a tightly managed sequence: soft strip, demolition of floors and internal structure, propping and edge protection at every level, then new slabs and foundations at the base of the building. A tower crane was erected inside the footprint, its mast and jib lifted in by a mobile crane working from the street under a planned closure.

Executing the structural works

The building was taken safely back to a stable, supported shell with its façades intact and a new structural base in place, ready for the new building to rise. The same preconstruction discipline — structure, logistics and programme planned before work starts — now shapes every Craftex project.

The result

Our gallery
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Case studies

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    Banbury Warehouse I Oxfordshire
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    Warehouse Fit-out - Hackney, London
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    Portsoken House I Aldgate, London
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  • COMMERCIAL
    Beaumont House I West Kensington, London
    View case study
Challenges & Solutions
01
Solutions
Deliveries were scheduled to permitted hours and called off just in time, so the site never stalled waiting on access.
Window-timed logistics
04
Challenges
The mobile crane worked under a planned road closure with traffic marshals and pedestrian management in place.
Planned crane operations
03
Floor-by-floor sequencing, dust and noise control and protected routes kept neighbours and the public safe throughout.
Controlled demolition
02
A full-height temporary works and scaffold system held the façades before demolition started and stayed until the new structure could take over.
Temporary works first
04
The tower crane's mast and jib had to be lifted in from the street, past traffic and pedestrians.
Heavy lifts in a busy street
03
Shops, restaurants and offices around the site stayed open, so noise, dust and access had to be controlled every day.
Neighbours on every side
02
The historic street and courtyard elevations had to remain standing while everything behind them was removed.
Façades that had to stay
01
The site sat among pedestrian courtyards with no laydown area, narrow approaches and strict delivery windows, making logistics one of the hardest parts of the job.
Restricted central-London access
Every central-London structural project has its constraints. Here's how this one was solved.

Our team

in
Sviatoslav Jerdetchii
CEO & FOUNDER
He skillfully assembles small, specialized teams for construction projects...
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Robert Barton
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Former Regional MD at Berkeley Homes. Leads our development partnerships with landowners and investors...
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Joe Crawford
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Joe has 37 years of experience working on both the commercial and operational side...
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Martin Hickey
PRECONSTRUCTION DIRECTOR
Martin has over 50 years of experience in construction having started as a labourer...
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Konstantin Jegorovs
PROJECTS DIRECTOR
Konstantin brings a wealth of experience, insights and knowledge to his role...
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Contacts
info@craftex.co.uk
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Unit 5,160 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9TR