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regeneration project in Poplar delivering 135 homes across two new buildings
Haworth Tompkins was invited by Swan Housing (now Sanctuary) and Metropolitan Workshop to collaborate on the second phase of the Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project, which followed an earlier decision to demolish the East Wing of Robin Hood Gardens designed by Alison and Peter Smithson in the late 1960s.
The new development doubles the density and delivers 268 mixed tenure homes across four new buildings, two designed by each practice, which share a common architectural language but are different in colour and detail.
Our buildings follow the existing angled building footprint of Robin Hood Gardens. Each building has one distinct kink in the massing. The facades fold and bend along Cotton Street and this results in exciting and dynamic street views. In contrast to the long, horizontal expression of the street facades with recessed wintergardens, the courtyard massing is formed as four vertical blocks with projecting balconies. The height varies between five and eight storeys with a high point at the southern corner. Each building has two vertical circulation cores with 4-5 homes per core and a dual aspect ratio of 90%.
The mixed tenure scheme with homes for private sale, shared ownership and social rent provides homes which achieve or exceed minimum space standards. While the private sale homes have open plan kitchen and living rooms, the outcome of the engagement process with the predominantly south asian community resulted in the kitchen being separate from the living rooms in the social rent homes.
Ground and first floor are taken up by maisonettes. On the courtyard side, these have private terraces with direct access onto the park. Maisonettes facing busy Cotton Street are screened by a deep planted zone and the recessed entrance porches are raised by a few steps. The homes also have a first floor wintergarden.
A robust material palette consisting of brickwork, precast concrete and coloured glazed tiles will ensure the buildings can age well over time. The construction included many innovative solutions, such as post tension slabs and pre-fabricated façade panels avoiding the need for scaffolding and hand laid bricks, improving built quality.