2010 WINNING SCHEMES > Project Winners

 

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It’s taken since the Blitz to repair the flaws created by bomb damage to the layout of Peabody Avenue. Originally 26 4- and 5-storey Peabody blocks built in the 1870s faced each other across an avenue of mature London plane trees, creating an enclave for a community to enjoy its semi-private amenity next to the busy railway lines and engine sheds of Victoria Station. But the strategic value of bombing the neighbour led to extensive damage and although some blocks were repaired, four were lost entirely, the resulting spaces turned over to amenity space.

Over time these gaps started to attract antisocial behaviour with one block also becoming derelict. Peabody set out to redevelop several times but residents did not like the proposals. In 2000 Westminster City Council turned the estate into a conservation area so when the architects were appointed in 2006 they faced a legacy of controversial applications and an overview of what would be appropriate.

The resulting design has the massing and many of the materials of the original blocks but is better. Innovations smartly deal with weaknesses in any tenement block. Apartments lining the railway line are pulled back behind a corridor access which opens onto 2-bed apartments and their balconies opposite which are cantilevered westward toward the railways lines. This will screen apartments from the noise from rush hour, while residents can sit out and laugh at commuters struggling home on summer evenings. The ground and first floor of this block is a larger 3-bed duplex unit with bedrooms on the upper level and a small outdoor space at ground floor.

The block turns east to create a double-height gated mouth to the avenue which creates ownership over the amenity spaces, such as the ball court which remains but is now beyond the reach of those using it inappropriately. A mix of 1-bed and 3-bed apartments in the block over the access have generous recessed balconies accessed from living rooms or bedrooms or both. One third of 55 new homes will be shared ownership. All homes will link up to the Pimlico district heating system and will be built to Code Level 3.

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