A former government office in Sheffield has just undergone an £8m conversion into 95 luxury apartments. Specialist developer, Oblix Living, is ready to deliver Iron Yard; a design-led scheme and one of the newest entries into the ever-developing Build to Rent sector.  

Iron Yard is the first Build to Rent development for Oblix Living, and a fantastic opportunity to create service-led, technology-enabled rental accommodation for professionals seeking flexibility, security and accessible amenities for modern day living.

Urban project

As a site that occupied the former HMRC building, the conversion is set to attract young urban professionals seeking an excellent quality of living. With outstanding onsite amenities, private parking, and easy access to the centre of Sheffield, this boutique collection of spacious, light-filled one and two-bedrooms will offer the ultimate cosmopolitan lifestyle.

The development also has an onsite resident’s gym, private event space, an extremely contemporary co-working hub, resident’s lounge, and impeccably landscaped gardens.

Our role at Iron Yard

Headoffice3 was appointed as Principal Designer and Principal Contractor on the Iron Yard project. We were present from concept stage all the way through to completion.

There’s no denying that the conversion underwent a massive overhaul to reach the end-goal. It was apparent early on that major structural changes and upgrades were required, particularly with the cavity wall insulation being combustible!

With the risk of fire spread, there was no alternative but to remove the existing insulation and replace it with a safer and much more efficient wool insulation.

Sounds easy enough, right? Removing the internal blockwork wasn’t too tough, but the shear walls were slightly (immensely!) more problematic as we had to remove the external bricks and concrete blocks!

Massive. Operation.

We overcame the problem with our immensely talented inhouse team and still managed to complete on time.

Fire safe

We’ve all learnt a great deal from Grenfell, Tower, and new Fire Safety regulations are firmly in place to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.

Iron Yard was no exception. Our next task was to install smoke shafts throughout the building and new passenger and firefighting lifts. We also added two large sprinkler tank systems, one for the residential areas, another for communal areas.

The communal areas include a basement-level lounge and gym alongside a vast underground carpark.

Suffice to say, health and safety is impeccably covered and in the event of a fire, have suitably adhered to all fire safety regulations.

Who are we?

The team at Headoffice3 has extensive experience and knowledge of building conversions. We can offer clients a highly professional approach when working with both old and new builds.

Our inhouse team covers planning permission, architecture, construction and project management for a faster, smoother process than the traditional approach.

If you’re looking to convert a building, please get in touch with a member of our friendly team. We’d love to help you bring an old building to life!