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Designer Hamilton Associates Developer Berkeley Homes Contractor Berkeley Homes Planning Authority London Borough of Islington

The area between the Angel and the City has long been one of central London's twilight zones: the commercial uses which once fuelled its activity mostly gone, leaving derelict buildings – or, in this case, car parks – behind. Developers have gingerly dipped their toes into the water at the top and bottom ends of St John Street, but fought shy of the crucial middle ground which connects them.

Now, however, a whole new urban quarter has appeared on the site of a former brewery, surrounding a splendid public square, shortly to be lined with shops, restaurants and bars; and extending generous pedestrian routes through to the streets on either side, and to adjacent commercial developments. This is much more than the sympathetic recreation of the existing urban grain: it provides a focus and a centre of gravity which the area never possessed before, creating new routes through the city, and a new population (including 57 affordable homes on an adjoining site) to support existing services, and help generate others.

The 198 flats form an irregular 5 to 8-storey wall round the square, which has as its centerpiece the old brewery offices; and the alley entrance through these from St John Street is mirrored in the narrow slots which divide the blocks, bridged by fully glazed living rooms. On the outer face, balconies and living rooms cantilever out over the pedestrian areas, clad in glass, zinc and copper. Facing the square, perforated zinc panels semi-screen a continuous run of balconies and terraces, already densely populated by plants and garden furniture.

To the side, behind the brewery buildings, a smaller enclave provides the site for 6 town houses. This, like the main square and pedestrian routes, is paved with York stone setts, Reclaimed granite setts mark the original route across the site through the brewery archway, and the only other features in a simple but highly effective piece of landscaping are carefully placed York stone planters. A significant step forward in urban regeneration, which won it the Special Award for the best development by a volume housebuilder.