Highbury’s conversion from hallowed turf to residential address has been an unusual and extremely high profile project. Arsenal Football Club’s move to a new stadium freed up the existing ground for transformation into a 725 home residential scheme, part conversion and part new apartment buildings, masterminded by Highbury Holdings/Vision Four and designed by Allies and Morrison. The Grade 2 listed Art Deco east stand and the west stand, which is of similar style, have been retained and converted. Familiar design features such as the stratified upper and lower tiers, pitched roof forms and significant sun shading have all been incorporated into the residential scheme design. In particular, the scale and geometry of the original sunray windows at each end of the stands is preserved, resulting in four unusual triplex apartments. In total, the scheme incorporates more than 25 housing typologies with 30 variations and exceptions, including interlocking duplexes, triplexes and penthouses. The old northern and southern stands have been replaced by blocks containing a range of homes from studios to three bedroom apartments, including 69 shared equity units. The development also includes a nursery, retail unit and fitness centre with swimming pool. The conversion and preservation of the historic stands has been fundamental to the project. English Heritage advised on how best to retain the features of the brick, steel and concrete structures while removing internal divisions to allow new accommodation to be inserted. The existing 4 metre structural grid of the stands was used as a planning grid for the whole project, including the landscaped gardens by Christopher Bradley-Hole. The gardens are planted with wild grasses and hedgerows. The project’s materials and construction methods were chosen to provide efficient assembly and optimum sustainability in performance. Precast columns were used to minimise the construction timeframe and disruption to the local community. The south stand incorporates one of the largest solar heating arrays in Europe and it is linked to a combined heat and power system, providing heating and hot water for residents. A rainwater harvesting system provides water to maintain all new planting. |
