Londoners aren’t looking for ‘luxury’ bells and whistles. They’re
craving light, space, flexibility and community. But living close
together doesn’t have to mean endless identical boxes off long,
gloomy corridors. Get beyond the lowest common denominator,
and you can provide brighter, more spacious, more imaginative and
rewarding homes. Homes that can be attractive either to sell or to
rent.
Even by central London standards, the development at 33-35
Monier Road, which we designed for Aitch Group, will be a highly
dense scheme nearing 285 dwellings per hectare. But Monier Road
will also be a sustainable addition to a new community and will
help to make Fish Island a unique place to live and work. The six-
storey building will deliver 45 high-quality homes: a mix of one-,
two- and three-bedroom apartments, 29% of which will be family-
sized units and 100% of which will be dual aspect. In order to
achieve this level of density and daylight on an island site we had to
carefully consider and refine the massing so it could be developed
alongside its neighbour to the north, Peabody’s Neptune Wharf, but
the emerging development of 120 residential units to the east and
the outline consent for a school to the west.
It all started in Fish Island, within the London borough of Tower
Hamlets, and one of the key zones earmarked for regeneration post-
Olympics. At the moment, the area has an unremarkable assortment
of low-grade industrial buildings, yards and vacant sites, and
some housing. There is also a peppering of cafes, bars, clubs and
galleries, as artists and other creatives migrate from Shoreditch to
more affordable areas. But the landscape is changing fast as the
vision of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC)
takes shape. Indeed, the current design (which was consented in
November 2015 and due to be completed late 2017) is the result
of much consultation with, and input from, stakeholders and the
public. It meets all the criteria set by the local authority and the
LLDC – for new and affordable housing with a socially balanced
mix, high standards of design, and environmental sustainability. It
will create new job opportunities and bring economic growth to the
area through new business.
THE SIX-STOREY BUILDING WILL DELIV-
ER 45 HIGH-QUALITY HOMES: A MIX
OF ONE-, TWO- AND THREE-BEDROOM
APARTMENTS, 29% OF WHICH WILL
BE FAMILY-SIZED UNITS AND 100% OF
WHICH WILL BE DUAL ASPECT.