The Portal Buildings at Silvertown Tunnel

Winner Brickwork Contractors Award 2025 Best Project

Ketley Staffordshire blue perforated bricks and Staffordshire blue double bullnose BN2.1 bricks 

Brickwork Contractors - AVV Solutions

Architects - dRMM Architects

Clients - Riverlinx CJV

Photography - Riverlinx CJV and John Zammitt

Two new buildings have been added to London's infrastructure with the opening of the new Silvertown Tunnel.  The Greenwich Portal building on the South side of the Thames and the Newnham Portal Building to the North of the river have been constructed to mark the threshold to the new tunnel and to provide administrative offices for tunnel management and plant rooms with mechanical and electrical systems equipment for the operation of the tunnel.   dRMM Architects were looking to visually link the buildings and give them stature so that they would stand out as markers for both Greenwich and Silvertown.  The tunnel and these new buildings are anticipated to be in use for centuries and needed to be built to stand the test of time.

dRMM Architects  used the same materials palette of Ketley Staffordshire blue bricks with bullnose bricks in a striking chain link pattern across the facades of both buildings giving them a shared visual language and making them recognisable buildings of strategic importance.  Each building is different in shape, with the Greenwich Portal, standing over the tunnel entry road, with an elegant curvature, almost like a piece of sculpture.  The Silvertown Portal built with the same Ketley bricks has a copper conical shaped form above a brick plinth with a 360 degree look out.  

Ketley have been promoting the use of their special shaped bricks to architects to create exciting facades for some time and are keen for architects to use their standard brick specials or even bespoke bricks in innovative ways to create really eyecatching brickwork.  Ketley bricks are the toughest bricks on the market with exceptionally low water absorption and extremely high compressive strength and so they are particularly suited to textured facades where water can sit on the top of the bricks and potentially cause frost damage. All Ketley bricks are Class A engineering brick quality and therefore extremely well suited to textured facades.   When Ketley were approached by dRMM architects who were exploring the use of bullnose bricks to create an interesting facade, Ketley mocked up some 3D images for dRMM to show the bricks with different bond patterns and mortar joints.  They advised that the best effect would be achieved using a recessed mortar to accentuate the chain link pattern made by the bullnose bricks and headers in a flemish bond.  

Brickwork contractors AVV Solutions have done an immaculate job of creating these amazing brickwork facades, using string plumblines to ensure that they kept the pattern perfectly even across the building.  Its not surprising they have won the Best Project Award at the 2025 Brickwork Contractors Awards.  The judges commented, “A tour de force of brickwork, meticulous attention to detail, with bespoke skills used to produce a fantastic brick sculpture. A real wow, wow and thrice wow of a project, radical brickwork, fair cutting to parapets oh what a joy to view. If you’re in the location please look at this piece of sculpture – it’s magnificent and so worth the visit.”