PROJECT REPORT 33
MASON & FIFTH WESTBOURNE PARK LONDON
From coal barges to co-living
AHMM’s mixed-use development in west London is helping to redefi ne the role of the Grand Union Canal, connecting heritage inspiration with modern co-living approaches. Stephen Cousins reports.
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tretching for over 137 miles, the Grand Union Canal was once a crucial artery linking the industrial Midlands with
London, used to transport coal and iron to drive the Industrial Revolution and, in the 1920s and 30s, bringing sand, gravel, and timber by barge to the capital to build out new suburbs.
Commercial traffi c ceased on most of the network in the 1970s, and today the stretch of waterway passing through London is a much more tranquil affair, used primarily for boating, walking and cycling, serving as a scenic backdrop for a growing community of narrowboat owners.
A programme of major redevelopment along the canal is transforming many brownfi eld and underused industrial sites into mixed-use, residential-focused hubs. The latest of these is Mason & Fifth Westbourne Park, a 332-unit fl exible living development built on the site of the former headquarters of London’s Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association. Designed by AHMM and interior architect TiggColl for investment manager Cheyne Capital, the scheme is operated by boutique co-living provider Mason & Fifth. It comprises a cluster of blocks, ranging from four to 12 storeys, wrapped around an urban courtyard that opens onto the canal. The development aims to foster a new community of young creatives and entrepreneurs, by offering a combination
ADF APRIL/MAY 2026
of short and long stay accommodation and multiple amenity spaces. Publicly accessible amenities are woven into the ground and lower ground fl oors to make the development relevant and accessible to local residents.
The varied urban context, characterised by cobbled streets with small scale offi ces and residential, the huge concrete canopy of the A40 Westway dual carriageway and the canal itself, were key inspirations for the building’s exterior form, colours and materials.
According to Hazel Joseph, director
at AHMM, the need to “respect the materiality and domestic scale of neighbouring buildings” informed the decision to design “a series of three smaller buildings” along the street, rather than a singular frontage and extensive use of brick and Crittal-style windows. To the south, a 12-storey tower and a public space with tiered seating make more of a physical impact “marking out the Mason and Fifth hotel from the Westway and those more southerly views.” Joseph adds: “When you walk around the
site, it’s very different depending on where you look, the spaces and the vistas open up as you move through it.”
Community living Westbourne Park is London-based Mason & Fifth’s third property built around the
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