April 2020 will be remembered as the peak of the global pandemic which shut down the largest world economies and will probably change the way we interact with one another for the foreseeable future.
While preparing HWO’s latest issue, we wondered what the consequences would be for the housing sector. At HWO, we hope for more compassion and more locally sourced materials and trades.
Time will tell but, whether we are clients, professionals or contractors, let’s all be prepared for major changes in our industry.
Keep well.
HWO architects
April 2020
100 BERESFORD AVENUE
Client: Woolbro Group
Nestled on a canal site in Brent, in the heart of the Alperton Road regeneration area, 100 Beresford Avenue is the latest London address signed by HWO architects for Woolbro Group.
Currently used as storage facility for the film industry, the land at 100 Beresford Avenue takes up a third of a hectare. The site is framed on four sides: the Grand Union Canal to the south, Beresford Avenue to the north, the Afrex House development to the west (31 units) and Berkeley Homes’ Northfields Estate of 2,900 units to the east. Yet, at HWO, we immediately felt there was an
opportunity to respond to this context with a massing that reinforced both the building lines on Beresford Avenue and connected the Grand Union Canal to Beresford Avenue. By consolidating the emerging developments with a quality urban proposal, here lied an opportunity to redevelop a disused building into a significant piece of public realm.
‘The effects of the development on the neighbouring properties and the levels of natural light within the proposed units are acceptable in the context of the NPPF, Brent’s Local Plan and the BRE guidance’
Daylight & Sunlight Report
Lichfield
Inspired by the canal setting, the proposed buildings frame a planted pedestrian avenue affording views onto the canal. Oscillating between a London-factory look and extreme modernity, the proposed materials address the two different uses: deep grey coloured render and crittal-style doors for the commercial podium, delicate brick patterns and steel balconies for the residential above.
With 12,000 sqf of light industrial spaces for creative businesses and makers, the commercial element will bring life to the development. in fact our approach to the commercial space is to create flexible working environments. Workspaces can split into diffrent zones, each one dedicated to social, collaborative or individual activities. These zones are designed to promote better
concentration, productivity, knowledge sharing and stronger collaborations. Indeed flexibility is paramount to create successful office fit-outs. High ceilings and clean structural frames with regularly laid out columns are important. These features allow number of different internal arrangements and users to bring life to ground floor commercial spaces. The form factor and
Client Woolbro Group
Housing Association
Guinness Partnership
Procurement
Design & Build
Local Authority
LB Brent
Number of units
100
Completion July 2024
depth of the units will bring exceptional natural light with floor to ceiling windows. These units will also benefit from access to a private courtyard and a dedicated cycle storage and facilities.
Already earmarked for a Joint-Venture development with a major housing association, the development will create 100 social-rent and shared owner-ship homes for Londoners. A planning application is due to be submitted end of April 2020.
TRAMSHED
Client: Flanchford Developments
Another mixed-use development for west-London family business Flanchford Developments which delivers 8 units over 3,250 sqf of commercial space. Heavily constrained, the site is on the doorsteps of busy Shepperd’s Bush Green with excellent transport links.
It’s not every day one stumbles across a site like the old tramshed, in what one could call ‘central Shepherds Bush’, within walking distance from the BBC headquarters, Westfield shopping centre and the Central Line station. And that’s exactly what our clients Flanchford Development did in 2018, asking HWO architects to prepare planning proposals.
Thanks to an excellent PTAL rating of 6b, and given the high public transport accessibility of the site, no car parking was proposed. This meant the proposals could aim for as many units as the site could physically take, having only regard to the daylight/ sunlight analysis and overlooking issues. The consented scheme provides 8 flexible, well designed units and aims to provide a robust housing mix to satisfy the demand for a range of users within the
community. The proposals consist of a 3 bedroom unit and seven 2 bedroom units, all with 2 bathrooms. All unit sizes meet the required Technical Housing standards –nationally described space standards. One of the key issue with any central London site is always Daylight/Sunlight, and
‘HWO designed a great modernlooking building for us’
Barry
Doherty Flanchford
specifically the impact of the development on neighbourhing properies and the quality of lighting within the proposed residential units. Thanks to careful massing and context analysis work, both issues were addressed at an early stage of the planning application. As a result, a total of 100% of the units are
dual aspect. To ensure high quality design and proposals with varying external views, the layouts have were designed to maximise dual aspect units and southern facing flats. The shape of the building was designed with the two longest façades to be south facing, therefore maximising the amount of sunlight
the units receive. Clear floor to ceiling heights were designed to a comfortable 2.5m. In terms of energy, the development will benefit from the following integrated systems: Passive design features (Be Lean), Energy efficiency measures (Be Clean) and Low and zero carbon technologies
Client
Flanchford Developments
Contractor
Flanchford Developments
Procurement
Design & Build
Local Authority
Hammersmith & Fulham
Number of units
Completion 2019
(Be Green). The target for the project is to achieve zero carbon emissions to meet the London Plan and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham’s local plan. The proposals also meet policy requirement for Wheel Chair units of which 10% are Part M4(3) compliant. The proposal aims to provide safe and unbiased access for all. Consideration has been used to ensure ease of use for not only disable users, but to create a high quality environment for families and the elderly. Finally the proposal aims to create a spaces that are easy and well thought out for the entire community. This includes Part M requirements, for instance that all approach routes are safe and convenient for everyone and that all entrance doors minimum clear opening of 775mm.
With most units pre-sold before completion of the works on site, the main issue with the development was the limited access to site and its construction management. Thankfully, this is something that Flanchford in-house contracting arm knew how to manage. Works were successfuly completed mid-2019 and the remaining units put on the market shortly after.
WOODLAND BARN
Client: Lakes by yoo
London’s new homes need to meet high levels of sustainability, and this project illustrates how that can be achieved, thanks to its innovative construction method, which can be used for multi-unit schemes.
For The Lakes by yoo, we took the idea of a traditional Cotswold barn and reinvented it in a contemporary way. The Barn is a 21stcentury version of the classic rural building, crafted from local Cotswold stone and green oak, with double-height volumes and extensive glazing.
For us, modernity also means sustainability. This house gave us the opportunity to break with traditional materials and construction methods, and trial an innovative and more sustainable type of timber frame. The result is a building which has sustainability built into its very fabric.
‘Refreshing to work with such a capable and friendly team that gets the job done’.
Giles Baker Lakes by yoo
The frame is made from cross-laminated timber panels. These are produced from kiln-dried, finger-jointed spruce and fir planks, which are cut into sheets, stacked at right angles and glued under a high-pressure bonding system in perpendicular layers. This creates a very dense and structurally robust
engineered timber – as strong as concrete, in fact. Timber is the only truly renewable building material, and it also has the lowest energy consumption of any building material throughout its lifecycle. Using cross-laminated timber actually reduces carbon dioxide levels–the wood removes CO2 from the atmosphere,
releases oxygen and stores carbon. Each cubic metre of cross-laminated timber panels will remove approximately 0.8 tonnes of CO2. Use enough timber in the construction of buildings and you could, theoretically, achieve negative CO2 emissions.
Client Lakes by yoo
Contractor
Coln Park
Procurement
This home meets level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes because of its frame, but its design can be adapted for further sustainability, via, for example, photovoltaic panels, an air-to-air heat pump or geothermal pump, and connection to a green energy source. The Barn was completed summer 2015.
Cotswold District Council
Number of units 8
Completion 2015
THE VINEYARDS
Client: CABU/Silvertown
How do you design barns that are green, contemporary, cosy and at the same time efficient to build? That’s the challenge developer Silvertown gave us on the back of HWO’s Woodland Barn project.
The site lies in the attractive stretch of countryside to the north of Ongar (Essex) in the pretty hamlet of Birds Green. Previously used as a landscape contractor’s yard, the site included a large barn which volume was used as a the maximum development benchmark. Following a quick visit on site, it became clear the development faced number of constraints such as the trees bordering the edge of the site and associated root protection areas, but also the close proximity of neighbours. But there were also clear opportunities within the site because existing tree lines created natural plot divisions also screened the property from main road. During design development, we aimed to create a well-designed scheme to reflect the local vernacular. We started the designs by working on the primary volume. This was inspired by the barn shape, characteristic of the area. Using simple proportions ensured that the form is not over bearing within the setting. The pitch of the roof varies across the 4 units to create character and help the scheme look more organic. By folding the entrance elevation, depth and identity were created. A small canopy indicates the entrance and the simple fold in the building line created interes. The volume was then animated with playful windows. Further changes in materials helped create texture and depth to the buildings.
Obviously these design considerations also took on board the construction method, ie insulated timber panel technology which CABU, the client’s JV partner, specializes in. The scheme provides four flexible, well designed units and also aims to satisfy the demand for a range of residential users. While the smallest unit was 3-bedroom the other three were 4-bedroom units ranging
‘We’re over the moon with the development and actively looking for more sites.’
Olivia Hutchinson Silvertown
from 2,090 to 2,680 sqf. Generally the immediate existing context to the site is a mix G+1 and G+2 so the proposal was for G+1 buildings. Due the range in type, size and roof form, each unit varied slightly in size, the lowest at 7.87m and the largest 8.52m. The non-uniformity of the buildings adds interest and prevents the scheme from looking too homogeneous. Clear floor to ceiling heights
are comfortable at 2.6m for the ground floor, and open into the roof space on the upper level, creating the feeling of space and openness.
The window strategy has been designed to create variety and interest across the four houses. Across all four units the intention was to have larger windows on the ground floor and smaller
punchy windows on the first floor and this will give the building weight at the base.
To strengthen this concept there is also a change in texture at the base. This simple panel is the timber used on the elevation but in a different direction.
The entrance is expressed by a brick reveal. This adds variety, defines the entrance and breaks the timber façades. Two
Client CABU / Silvertown
Contractor
Cowley Timber + Partners
Procurement
Design & Build
Local Authority
Epping Forest District Council Number of units 4
Completion 2020
of the units have a traditional gable roof with equal sized slopes. The remaining two units have a pitched roof but with unequal sized pitches. This adds interest to the building lines. The gable end to the west of the units is full glazed with a double height space behind, over the living area. This elevation creates a distinctive feature for the dwellings and introduces light into the key spaces. The material palette considers a variety of textures and tones to create architecturally rich buildings. High quality materials are key in creating vigorous and well detailed schemes. Each unit as a different but similar material palette to create individual dwellings. This helps with place making, ownership and avoids the scheme to look too repetitive. This approach is supported by The Essex Design Guide which states different facing materials on different houses within a development is deemed appropriate.
Development was completed on site and launched early 2020.
OUR TEAM
All photos by Craig Auckland (Fotohaus)
AWARDS
Planning Award Excellence in Placemaking at High Density (Hackney Wick)
Build Magazine Architectural Award 2019
Best Mixed-Use Architecture Practice.
Build Magazine Architectural Award 2019
Best Residential Mixed-Use Project (East London) for Old Smoke House.
SERVICES
At HWO, we manage the full development cycle. This includes:
Site sourcing and capacity studies
Robust planning applications
RIBA chartered practice, led by ARB architects
Fully compliant designs, audited to Quality Standard IS0 9001
Revit model and scheduling, following industry-standard procedures and established BIM protocols and best practice, according to BS1192:2007, PAS1192-2:2013, AEC UK BIM Standards, CPI Code.
A BIM coordinator assigned to every project, supported by a BIM management team overseeing the strategy, delivery and evolution of our digital design capabilities
Tender drawing and specification packages using NBS Create, directly linked to our BIM model
Specification writing fully linked to Revit models, using NBS Create
Experience in different procurement routes
Experience using MMC’s and CLT frames
Direct collaboration with engineers and specialist consultants
Distribution of web drawings via a dedicated platform
Design Leader (awarded RIBA PM Certificate)
CSSW Basement Waterproofing Training
CLIENTS
We are proud to work with some of the most prestigious clients in the property industry.
Aitch Construction, Aitch Group, Baqus Plc, Blaircourt Investments, LB Brent, CABU, Capstone Group, Cass & Claredale Housing, Citywest, Homes, Colliers, Dreampoint Homes, LB Ealing, Espa international, Farnham Developments, Four Seasons, Hotels & Resorts, French Trade Bureau in London, Generator Group, Glenny, Guinness Partnership, Hut Group, Hyde Housing, Group, IPE Developments, John Jones, Knight Frank, London Development Group, Lakes by yoo, Marriott, IC hotels, Modular Building Consultants, NFS Investments, Network Rail, Quintas Homes, Raven Property, Rail Europe (part of French Railways), Redbridge Council, Regal Homes, Rosemax Investments, Royds Withy King, Silvertown Properties, Software Integrators, Spa Tribe, Squared Group, Strettons, Swimming Rocks, Westminster Kingsway College, Wharfedale Homes, Westbrook Whitfield Ventures, Woolbro Group, Yara Capital, The Zamek Group.
EVENTS & FEATURES
‘An Award-Laden Year’ Feature in Construction Industry News Issue 11
Architectural Awards May 2019 BUILD magazine
‘What if planning actually worked?’ Seminar - London Olympia.
‘Homes’ Exhibition - London Olympia.
‘CIH Housing’ Exhibition – Manchester.
‘Addressing The Capital’s Housing Shortage’ Exhibition – 2-5 June, The White Building, Hackney Wick.
‘Foundations of the Future’ Interview – A Home Builders Federation programme by ITN Productions (launched at UK Construction Week).
‘A Capital Crisis of Space’ - A four-page feature in July’s Issue of Inside Housing.
‘It’s all gone PRS’ - One-hour presentation at ‘Homes’ the industry event in Olympia.
‘The Creative Hour - Ep1’ - A drink event featuring a presentation on PRS and Planning by Ben Kelway, Senior Director at Lichfields.
‘The Creative Hour - Ep2’ - A drink event featuring a presentation on the economics of the PRS model by Stephen Young, Director at Fizzy.
‘GRAPHITE Launch Party’ - A drink event to celebrate 14 years in practice and the launch of our in-house mag GRAPHITE.
MIPIM 2018 & 2019 - HWO attended MIPIM, the international real estate fair in Cannes.
