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Architects: Alison Brooks Architects
- Area: 20600 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Paul Riddle
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Manufacturers: Brooksby, CCS Facades, GKE, Galliford Try, Grangewood Brickwork, MH Atlantic Contracts, O’Halloran & O’Brien (OHOB), SDS Aluprof System
Text description provided by the architects. One Ashley Road, a flagship project of the Tottenham Hale regeneration in London, UK, is a dense live-work-shop community complex rooted in place. One Ashley Road is Alison Brooks Architects’ landmark project for client, Related Argent, forming the gateway to the Tottenham Hale redevelopment, Heart of Hale. Located near the Walthamstow Wetlands and Lea Valley waterways, the scheme is part of a large-scale transformation of a post-industrial, traffic-dominated transport hub into a characterful, diverse and walkable neighborhood. It comprises two residential towers that frame two sides of a courtyard block. The scheme houses 183 residential units, above three levels of retail and incubator office spaces, as well as roof gardens and a new public realm.
The design responds to the characteristics of the historic, existing, and emerging context. It defines the northern edge of a new transport interchange and acts as a threshold to a dynamic new neighborhood. The scheme offers a new tree-filled civic square at the 'prow' of the site, as well as a new pedestrian passage that leads into the Berol Factory Courtyard. The scheme acts as the 'front door' to the Heart of Hale masterplan. Its animated silhouette and colonnaded base, situated opposite the Tottenham Hale transport hub, create a memorable new identity rooted in place. It references the area’s industrial heritage, particularly the adjacent Berol House which was once part of the Eagle Pencil Company Factory, with a ‘carved’ and animated perimeter block. This is expressed through a distinctive, faceted form and a more pronounced verticality. With a rich orange brick outer skin and a shimmering metal inner skin, the design is inspired by the graphic colors and hexagonal forms of the iconic Berol Eagle Pencil. These have been translated formally as abstract surface patterns within the building.
The scheme’s stepped massing creates a secluded residents’ podium garden and co-working space at the third-floor level and a south-facing communal roof garden at the seventh-floor level. This prominent space overlooks the new square, and the mid-rise scale softens the transition between the tall elements and the public realm. In contrast to its smooth terracotta exterior, the internal elevations feature faceted metal cassette panels which reflect light into the block interior, so that its heart becomes a shimmering veil of light.
Overcoming a significant underground constraint with both ingenuity and sculptural intent, One Ashley Road's design responds to the presence of two Victoria line tunnels running through the plot. By strategically locating the two towers and their respective piling on either side of the tunnels, the project team navigated loading, acoustic, and vibration requirements from the London Underground infrastructure. This approach to the site's unique conditions resulted in a stepped-base massing block, which recesses to the north to offer communal green terraces. These outdoor spaces provide residents with access to air, light, and panoramic views, seamlessly integrating the built environment with the natural landscape. The gardens and hexagonal terrace weave green space throughout the project, creating communal destinations for residents to socialize and relax in a variety of quiet, secluded locations.
