The carefully balanced building ensemble is comprised of two distinct and lighter coloured towers marking the arrival to the park, sitting alongside a series of lower and medium rise blocks with warm terracotta tones. Union Park is designed to be rich in biodiversity. The planting design incorporates a layered diverse range of plant species that will thrive and flower during all seasons, creating a vibrant landscape throughout the year. The majority of the park has been seeded with a wildflower mix creating a large meadow as a home for insects. This sits alongside a large pond, which uses reed beds to clean its waters, avoiding the need to add chemicals. A wide variety of mature trees create shade and shelter. The square between the two buildings is populated with bird cherry trees throughout bringing intense blossom in the spring time.

All buildings are clad with innovative pre-fabricated concrete façades, efficiently designed in close collaboration with the manufacturers, which achieve a significantly lower embodied carbon footprint than traditional brick elevations. The façade articulation of each building is designed to be distinct to each, utilising texture and relief to play with light and shadow. Pre-fabricated projecting balconies have been chosen to compliment the precast using complementary colour tones.

The majority of homes have been delivered as Build to Rent (BtR), with residents having access to communal facilities including a lounge and gym, with external terraces at roof and ground level as well as play space at 1st floor podium. Open plan apartments and exposed concrete soffits create generous and contemporary reception spaces.

Both NE02 and NE03 have almost halved embodied carbon during construction compared to Quintain’s 2020 schemes, achieving 473 and 497 kgCO₂/m² GIA (RICS A1–A5). This has been achieved by adopting a fabric first approach with excellent wall-to-floor and glazing ratios, optimised floor-to-floor heights and high levels of standardisation of carefully designed components. A DFMA design strategy targeted carbon reductions by focusing on efficient manufacture and assembly.

The precast façade, developed with Techrete, uses over 30% less embodied carbon than a typical brick/SFS façade. A new clip-on balcony system by Sapphire Balconies reduced total embodied carbon by about 3%, using folded aluminium to minimise materials and energy, while eliminating heavy steel arms and cold bridging. The reinforced concrete frame incorporated high GGBS content, contributing a 4% total carbon saving. NE02 also achieved BREEAM Excellent for non-residential areas.

Prefabricated bathroom pods, partition systems, three-storey risers, and robotic setting-out further advanced DFMA principles, improving quality, speed, safety, and reducing waste. Strong collaboration between the client, design team, and contractor allowed for novel systems to be incorporated from the outset, enabling early integration of innovative systems and fully coordinated interfaces.

Wembley NE02 and NE03 demonstrate how contemporary residential architecture can combine scale, craftsmanship and innovation to create lasting social and environmental value. Through close collaboration the project has delivered a technically advanced, low-carbon neighbourhood that enhances everyday life for residents while contributing a new green heart to Wembley Park.