In an area formerly characterised by light industrial buildings, thinkingspace were approached to design a mixed use commercial and residential building on a narrow, deep site on the Kingsland Road.

Set in a Conservation Area the site consisted of a locally listed victorian building facing the road and an industrial shed at the rear. The area is well connected to central London by public transport and a disused railway line behind the site is soon to be reopened to further connect the neighbourhood into the fabric of the city.

Sited between two seven storey buildings, their flank walls looming over the narrow space between, the design was developed as a pair of slim, elegant interventions enclosing a quiet private courtyard. The locally listed victorian building facing Kingsland Road is refurbished, and a new timber clad stair core added, releasing the floor plates to allow dual aspect flats on every floor.

Towards the rear of the site a new building of eight storeys forms the eastern enclosure of the courtyard. Sliding interlocking timber screens form the external surface of the double skinned facade. This layered approach performs dual functions, protecting living spaces from the railway and offering an ever changing, animated facade to the street.

Shortlisted for Housing Design Awards 2004