Lancaster West Estate Refurbishment London, UK Client: Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Size: 900 homes Value: £58m Completion Date: 2024 Sustainability: Net Zero Carbon by 2030 Scope: RIBA Stages 0-7
Perkins&Will (formerly Penoyre & Prasad) worked
leafleting and door-knocking across the estate, block and
in collaboration with the Lancaster West Residents’
cluster meetings, attendance at Residents’ Association
Association and Kensington & Chelsea Council in a co-
General Meetings, home visits where requested, and
design process to refurbish the 1960s Estate following the
telephone and email correspondence. As well as longer-
Grenfell tragedy.
term aspirations for the refurbishment, our work identified
The initial ideas phase of the process, completed at the end of March 2018 was the first step in the residentled refurbishment. We co-led a team of six leading
and prioritised a series of possible early projects which could be carried out before the main refurbishment works without affecting future plans.
architectural practices to form a resident-led vision for
In October 2020, we were chosen to deliver the £57.9m
the estate. This included two large, public workshops
‘once in a generation’ upgrade to the Estate, that will set a
that were held in January and March, alongside many
new standard for social housing and help rebuild the lives
smaller meetings that engaged with residents across the
of the community affected by the 2017 tragedy.
Estate to identify and discuss their specific challenges. At these events both residents and architects shared ideas and are continuing to work together to ensure these plans are realised. This was part of an extensive resident engagement programme, including Ideas Days,
We will undertake the refurbishment of the east side of the estate, which includes retrofitting 207 council homes for its residents, and building a new nursery with outdoor play space for the community.
Lancaster West Estate Refurbishment
Homes will be made more energy efficient through the
they can make real choices to changes on their homes and
replacement of two existing district heating systems,
improve living conditions for individuals. There will also
installing new, triple-glazed windows and high-quality,
be no demolition works of any properties on site meaning
non-combustible insulation, and new ventilation systems.
residents will not have to be relocated during the process.
These measures will improve the thermal comfort of
The design team will continue to work with the residents to
homes while reducing fuel poverty and carbon emissions.
ensure these plans are realised.
Additional internal works include installation of new bathrooms and kitchens, that meet standards agreed with residents. External works include refurbishment of the blocks, upgrading of communal areas and improved security. All work will be done sensitively and in cooperation with the people who live in the Estate to ensure
Additional funding was secured from the central government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and will go towards helping Lancaster West become a net-zero carbon estate by 2030, setting a new benchmark for ecofriendly social housing.