PROJECT REPORT: MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS 31


© Paul Riddle


was the key driver of what was a rigorous and careful approach taken by the architect and client.


TENURE-BLIND FACADES Jacob Wilson asserts that from a design point of view, Be First has “worked really hard with the politicians and residents to think about how we make tenure blind developments. So when you look at Phase 1, you can’t tell which are the affordable blocks and which are the private blocks.” This is now industry best practice, and it’s crucial to avoid creating an aesthetic division between tenures’ build quality. Willson says there has been a problem with private landlords in London and elsewhere, creating a dichotomy between council and private tenants by underspecifying the former and leading to the widely reported ‘poor doors’ stigma. Phase 1 has a variety of blocks, from three to 13 storeys, and the overall scale is broken down by the taller blocks having a “stepped lower shoulder,” in the words of project architect Linda Thiel. This reduces the overall impact and helps the scheme relate to the scale of the surrounding buildings. The resulting


volumes are six and 11 storeys for Block , eiht and five storeys for the skinnier Block B (which has a block of seven townhouses sitting in front of it), and six and 13 storeys in the case of Block C. The six-level portion of the latter, which is allocated to the private rental market, has a roof garden, located adjacent to the townhouses. The higher levels offer great views into central London. Blocks A and B are ‘kinked,’ both following the line of retained mature trees, creating a streetscape that has a much more amenable urban presence than totally perpendicular facades would offer, and angling the forms back from the street edge. The result is a series of “strong frontages’’ broken up by “entrance squares,” explain the architects. The scheme is designed as a car free development with limited parking, and a “pedestrian-friendly public realm.” The trees along Abbey Road provide natural shading to the west facade, soften the overall look, and have also been used to locate small, sheltered play areas. The external spaces have been designed to be highly usable, and a Places for Girls workshop held by the architects


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