Tide installs first volumetric units at 23-storey Southall student tower

Tide Construction has installed the first volumetric units at The Green, its 23-storey student scheme in Southall, west London, and said the building remains on course for completion for the 2027 academic year.

The developer and contractor said volumetric installation was "well underway" at the site in the London Borough of Ealing. The building will provide 424 purpose-built student studio rooms, with amenity space, cycle parking, servicing and public realm improvements along the frontage.

Tide said The Green is the first volumetric scheme in the UK to achieve Gateway 2 approval under the Building Safety Act. It announced that approval on 15 October 2025, saying at the time that it meant work could begin on site immediately.

Christy Hayes, CEO of Tide and Vision, said when the approval was announced: "Securing the UK's first Gateway 2 approval for a volumetric building is a landmark moment for Tide and Vision."

The project

Tide is delivering The Green with its sister company and offsite manufacturer, Vision Volumetric. Formation Architects is the architect, with Tide acting as developer and contractor, according to Tide's project page.

Tide announced on 28 January 2025 that it had secured a resolution to grant planning permission for the scheme, and said it secured planning permission for the 23-storey building in January 2025. Its project page now lists the status as planning and Gateway 2 approval achieved.

The programme has moved since the planning stage. In January 2025 Tide said the scheme would be completed and ready for occupancy by the start of the 2026 academic year; its latest announcement now gives completion for the 2027 academic year. The January release also described the scheme as 424 student beds, while the latest announcement and the project page refer to 424 studio rooms.

Tide said the site is close to public transport and the strategic road network, and sits in an area it described as changing rapidly since the opening of the Elizabeth Line. The building is designed to respond to emerging taller developments to the north-east of the site, the company said.

Factory quality assurance and Gateway 3

When it announced the Gateway 2 approval, Tide set out the quality processes it said would carry the scheme through Gateway 3.

Each volumetric unit goes through six independent quality assurance sign-offs before it leaves the factory, Tide said, and every build stage is digitally tracked with scannable QR codes that give instant access to the relevant documentation. The company said Vision's factory controls and existing quality assurance processes would support the scheme at Gateway 3.

Tide said in January 2025 that Tide and Vision's volumetric technology can cut construction programmes by up to 50% compared with traditional methods.

The companies

Tide describes itself as a developer and main contractor specialising in offsite construction. It said it has delivered more than £3.5bn of real estate in recent years, working with Vision Volumetric under a vertically integrated procurement model, and that it is behind seven of the world's 10 tallest volumetric towers.

Vision Volumetric said it has delivered more than 20,000 volumetric units to date and that its process translates buildings of up to 50 storeys into transportable 3D units.

Tide's next regulatory milestone at The Green is Gateway 3, ahead of its target of completion for the 2027 academic year.