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Architects: Hawkins\Brown
- Area: 57090 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Simon Kennedy, Ruth Ward, Adrian Lambert, Jack Hobhouse
Text description provided by the architects. The new build-to-rent scheme - named Portlands Place - completes the primary axis of East Village – an anchor within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park masterplan. Designed by Hawkins\Brown and constructed by Mace, it provides 524 homes with a focus on communal spaces and social interaction within a brightly colored facade that distinguishes it from its neighbors.
The latest design thinking has been employed to provide a socially unified building, with shared amenities, workspaces, bars, and cafes that foster interaction between residents, encouraging people to put down roots in this new part of London.
The two towers – at 26 and 31 stories – and two ten-story pavilions are merged into a single interconnected development through a double-height inhabited sky bridge. It provides generous space for shared living including lounges, communal dining rooms, a cinema room, wellness studio, along with room for informal working and meeting. These spaces open out onto extensive roof gardens that provide fantastic views across London and the Olympic Park.
Built using High Rise Solutions (HRS), Mace’s specialized MMC system, it was possible to reach a momentum of installing a floor per week – thereby reducing vehicle movement by 40% and significantly reducing environmental disruption, noise, and pollution.
The ground floor of the tallest tower contains the super-lobby, where the concierge and building management come together at a hotel-style front reception desk. There is also an automated e-commerce delivery and collection facility. Co-working space can be found on the ground floor of the western block.
The building’s pre-cast facade is in keeping with the established architecture of East Village, but the vibrant color scheme and colored glass balconies are a provocative departure from the background colors of the rest of the Athletes’ Village. The different color schemes on the two towers reflect their different contexts; the greens and blues picking up the colors of the wildflowers in the park and the orange and reds reflect the emerging urban scene of Stratford city.
