A second stage of development for the South Kilburn Masterplan is underway as plans submitted by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and Alison Brooks Architects (ABA) were approved last week. The developments span a 2.09 hectare site in the London suburb of South Kilburn, replacing three existing isolated estates with 144 new dwellings.
More on the masterplan after the break.
The planning zone is situated at at the gateway to the historic quarter identified in the overarching Masterplan For the Regeneration of South Kilburn. The scheme will reinstate the urban form and street pattern which characterised the area before post-war development – a traditional model of villas fronting the main road with corresponding mews houses to the rear, and a restored nineteenth century route, Alpha Mews.
Running the length of the scheme and linking the new developments, the ‘spine’ route is made up of shared surfaces, play areas, gardens and defined public and private spaces overlooked by balconies and roof gardens. A continuous frontage along Cambridge Avenue adjacent to Kilburn Park Station repairs the historic street pattern, while the modern brick facades of the Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ scheme reflect the formality of the Victorian villas opposite – the consistency in height and detail punctuated by taller recessed linking elements which act as vertical markers along the street. The apartments themselves deliver high-quality living space with generously spaced, dual-aspect units.
The varying height of the buildings to the rear is typical of mews across London, while articulated entrances, recessed windows and roof gardens add interest and depth to the façades. ABA’s scheme is a collection of three building typologies of up to four storeys: apartment terrace, flatiron building and mews houses knitted between existing eleven storey apartment blocks. Street frontages are animated with front porches, recessed balconies and roof gardens create a layering of landscape and highly articulated, rhythmic facades. A mews street of two and three bed houses introduces a finer grain of development within the scheme. Integral to ABA’s scheme is the definition and reinforcement of the existing estate’s green spaces as communal gardens and protected play areas.
The approach to urban form stitches the new development into the old – providing connections to the wider neighborhood in the form of new pedestrian routes and appropriate architecture in high-quality materials. The team of Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and Alison Brooks Architects won the project in a two-stage design competition last year. It forms the second stage in the overall master plan, which will remain ongoing until 2025.
