Wembley North East Lands (Luna & Solar) has won the Façade Innovation Award at this year’s Tall Building Awards. Last week, we joined our colleagues from Eckersley O’Callaghan and Techcrete to celebrate the award, which recognises ground-breaking exterior envelope systems that push the boundaries of materials, technologies or structural design in high-rise architecture. Designed by Haworth Tompkins for Quintain, Wembley North East Lands delivers 769 Build-to-Rent homes across two distinct but complementary buildings, NE02 (Solar) and NE03 (Luna), adjacent to Wembley Stadium.
The façade strategy was central to establishing the architectural identity of the two buildings. Precast concrete panels use texture, depth and relief to capture light and shadow, while maintaining a cohesive material language across the development. The panel design was rationalised to maximise visual depth while limiting complexity, with repetition developed across the panel families to support efficient manufacture, transport and installation. Careful setting out and detailing coordinated the façade with the internal layouts, primary structural grid and balconies, minimising unnecessary additional structure required to support the façade panels.
A key innovation was the integration of the balcony supports directly into the face of the precast panels. Developed collaboratively with Eckersley O’Callaghan, Techrete and Sapphire Balconies, the solution eliminated the need for conventional structural penetrations through the façade at the slab edge, enabling a continuous firestop detail, simplifying waterproofing and removing the repeated thermal bridging and associated thermal breaks typically required at balcony connections. The façade design was developed through close coordination with the wider project team and specialist subcontractors. Finishes were reviewed and benchmarked through numerous site visits, mock-ups and on-site testing, while interfacing packages and tolerances were carefully reviewed to achieve seamless thresholds to balconies. Firestopping was detailed and coordinated throughout the façade.
The award is a welcome recognition of the collaboration that underpinned the design and delivery of the façade. Congratulations to Quintain, Eckersley O’Callaghan, Techrete, Sapphire Balconies and the wider project team.
Haworth Tompkins named Public Building Architect of the Year at the 2026 Building Design Architect of the Year Awards 2026.
Planning permission has been granted for the first phase of York Central, delivering 1014 homes, commercial space, extensive public realm and parkland, as well as a brand-new entrance to the west of York railway station.
Five Haworth Tompkins projects have secured six shortlist places across the 2026 AJ Architecture Awards and NLA Awards. The recognition reflects the breadth of our expertise across culture, housing, regeneration and masterplanning - from the sensitive transformation of listed cultural buildings to major residential developments and urban masterplans.
Planning permission has been secured for the first phase of the transformation of St Botolph's Quarter in central Colchester, marking an important milestone in the city's long-term regeneration.
Pembroke Mill Lane for Pembroke College, Cambridge, has been shortlisted for the 2026 RIBA Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious award for architecture.
Wonderful to see the new performance spaces at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) alive with performance, rehearsal and teaching.
Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge has received a RIBA National Award.
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