Stonebridge Social Housing

If there’s one thing we’ve learned makes better buildings, it’s empathy. Architecture never happens in isolation—and simply by being interested and engaged, we’ve found it’s possible to open up the conversations that connect a scheme to its clients and community.

We believe that the more constraints there are, the better the architecture. If there aren’t any constraints, we create them. Challenging sites, existing buildings and complex briefs almost always present incredible opportunities for great design.

To limit our environmental impact, we start with what is already there. By manipulating the form and fabric of a building—whether new or existing—we can work with the existing conditions of topography, light and orientation, and harness the natural energy sources offered by air, ground and water.

If a site’s constraints guide the bigger design decisions, then it’s empathy that informs the smaller, social details. These details frame the human narratives that aren’t included in the brief, anticipating specific moments in the users’ lives.

Good architecture is as much about what happens on the building site as it is about what’s on the drawing board. By working alongside contractors as well as clients we can ring-fence the ideas and details that matter, championing quality and sustainability throughout construction.

Stonebridge Social Housing

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Work

 Stonebridge Social Housing
Brent, London

Client

London Borough of Brent

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> Housing brochure

Stonebridge Social Housing is a major social housing development for Stonebridge, in Brent, north-west London. Along with the general need for social and affordable housing, our clients, Brent’s regeneration team, had identified a specific need for homes that would provide a safe haven for those recently arrived in the borough. Their ambition was not only to deliver these homes, but to complement them with learning space and affordable work units that residents could access easily, enabling them to get the best possible start in their new lives.

The project will deliver up to 80 family-sized dwellings each served by a generous balconies or private terraces. These apartments and masionettes gather around a landscaped common courtyard, which is sheltered from the busy street and animated by rooflights serving the education spaces on the ground floor.

This scheme will be a new landmark for Stonebridge, creating strong frontages and much-needed definition to a prominent urban corner, while the vibrant façades address the colour, tone, massing and rhythm of the two churches either side of the development. The building will be constructed to the highest design and environmental standards and will create an exceptional building in the heart of the community.