This scheme’s innovative design made it the clear winner in this category. The 24 home development flanking railway lines close to Wembley Central station is designed by Proctor and Matthews Architects. The four-storey building’s main façade comprises horizontal bands of red and grey brickwork that bring pattern and texture to the residential streetscene. Timber slatted fencing and window details echo the horizontal banding of the brickwork. Set against the front of the building are steel balcony frames fronted with glazed screens incorporating a green leaf pattern, inspired by the trees in the street. As train and Underground lines run directly behind the scheme, the rear elevation of the building has translucent screening to provide separation and help reduce noise transmission. Homes include six one-bedroom apartments for shared ownership, six one and two-bedroom apartments for social rent and 12 one and two-bedroom apartments for private rent. All are designed for comfort and practicality. Apartments are light and spacious and have either a garden or a balcony, the latter being up to 14 square metres in size. Each apartment has a full height storage cupboard in the hall and a cupboard on the external walkway at the rear of the building for storage of larger items. Ground floor apartments also have the benefit of a garden shed. Each apartment is equipped with a combined heat recovery system for ventilation, water heating and underfloor heating. This technology helped the scheme achieve a ‘very good’ rating under the EcoHomes environmental assessment system
|
