News
Unity Place featured in new Architecture Foundation book, ‘At Home in London: The Mansion Block’
05.2023
Our award-winning project Unity Place has been featured in the most recent Architecture Foundation book, ‘At Home in London: The Mansion Block’, exploring the history and evolution of the iconic London typology through 27 significant projects.
Co-published with Mack Books, the publication explores the history and evolution of the London mansion block from the 1850s to the present day through 27 significant projects. Urban historian Karin Templin has edited the publication to offer a detailed encounter with the type and its role in defining the contemporary city.
Alison Brooks Architects first explored the mansion block as a typology back in 2010 with Ely Court, the first one of three projects for Brent Council in South Kilburn. As a strategy to restore the human scale and character of South Kilburn, our three modern mansion blocks follow six key principles from the type:
– Open ended bar buildings
– Frequent street facing communal entrances
– Two dwellings per floor/ per stair & lift core
– 100% dual aspect dwellings
– High ceilings and generous proportions
– Articulated roofscapes
View or purchase the book here.
Two Projects Shortlisted for Inaugural Brent Design Awards
04.2023
Both Unity Place and Kilburn Quarter have been shortlisted for the London Borough of Brent’s first celebration of design excellence.
Six-Spread Feature for The Plan Magazine
04.2023
The Practice was highlighted in the March 2023 global issue of THE PLAN Magazine. The complimentary article featured original drawings and images of Homerton College, the LSE Global Hub, Windward House, Cadence and Exeter College’s Cohen Quad.
Read the article here.
‘The Pioneers of Cross-Laminated Timber Construction’
02.2023
The Smile was the cover feature and first project to be explored in Archdaily’s article covering the ‘Meteoric Rise of Cross-Laminated Timber’.
The article referenced the landmark fully timber project made in collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Arup, and the London Design Festival. Showcasing the structural and spatial potential of cross-laminated American tulipwood The Smile uses CLT’s structural capacity to cantilever visitors in its 34m-long curve, up to three meters above the ground, without additional support.
Read the full Archdaily article here.
Unity Place Shortlisted for RIBA London Award
02.2023
Unity Place has been shortlisted by the RIBA London Jury for a prestigious London Award.
Working with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Gort Scott as a large collaborative project, Unity Place is the latest phase of Brent Council’s twenty-year South Kilburn Regeneration in North West London. Alison Brooks Architects have designed a cluster of three modern mansion blocks to replace two derelict 1960’s towers. The scheme re-integrates the site and its communities into the wider South Kilburn neighbourhood. Three buildings provide exceptionally high quality, bright and spacious units.
Practical Completion in Tottenham Hale
01.2023
We are thrilled to announce the end of the construction period of One Ashley Road in North London.
Our scheme’s hexagonal plan geometry, colour and patterning are inspired by Tottenham’s historic local context. The Eagle Pencil Co, later taken over by Berol, operated a factory in the Hale from 1907 to 1992. With a rich orange brick outer skin and a faceted metal courtyard façade, our design employs the graphic colours and hexagonal forms of the iconic Berol Eagle Pencil. These have been translated formally as abstract surface patterns within the architecture of the building, gathering and reflecting light into its heart.
A secluded residents podium garden and resident’s co-work space at third floor level is sheltered from street noise; at 7th floor level, a south-facing communal roof garden is visible from afar. With a double-height colonnade offering a civic frontage to Tottenham Hale, this building will bring identity, character, human scale and joy to its new and existing communities.
Visualization shows the view of the building directly after exiting Tottenham Hale station