Loft LInes

Build to Rent (BTR) development in Belfast

The Project

Loft Lines marks a major milestone as the first Build to Rent (BTR) development in Belfast. The scheme delivers more than 600 BTR homes across two distinctive residential blocks rising to 18 storeys, alongside a third block providing 150 affordable apartments. Etive provided full civil and structural engineering design services, supporting the delivery of this landmark scheme within the city’s evolving waterfront.

The Challenge

A prominent site within the Titanic Quarter masterplan, Loft Lines rises from the historic grounds of the former Abercorn Shipyard, where some of the world’s most iconic vessels were built, including the SS Titanic. Positioned along the banks of the River Lagan and set on complex brownfield land shaped by multiple generations of development, the site carries a rich and layered industrial legacy. As a result, the potential presence of historic foundations and buried shipyard structures was exceptionally high, with their precise locations and extents largely unknown, presenting both a unique challenge and an opportunity to build sensitively within one of Belfast’s most storied waterfront settings.

Our Solutions

A carefully planned programme of enabling works was central to the success of this project, allowing the team to explore and manage areas of unknown ground conditions with confidence. Controlled trial digging and the systematic removal of obstructions were carried out within defined periods, ensuring that piling operations could proceed efficiently and without disruption. Numerous historic structures were discovered to be founded on timber piles, each of which was carefully identified, recorded, and incorporated into the design strategy through an exceptionally complex and collaborative coordination process.

The superstructure adopts an efficient two way spanning flat slab system, supported by blade columns and stability cores. The structural layout was meticulously developed to eliminate columns within all 750 plus apartments, maximising flexibility and delivering highly adaptable, future proof interior spaces.