Introduction
Flanagan Lawrence Residential
Residential Themes
Repairing the Urban Fabric - Fisherton Street
Designing for Residential Quality - Chiswick Point
Environmental Sustainability - Crescent House
Creating Communities - Wembley Park
Flanagan Lawrence has designed and built an impressive portfolio of homes across all residential tenures and now plays a key role in the regeneration of brownfield sites across London and the South East.
This paper focuses on selected projects from that portfolio and demonstrate our approach to the key themes of sustainability, residential quality, building safety and urban design, never forgetting that we are designing homes for people, and thereby supporting the creation of successful, diverse communities.
We have fully embraced the introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 and emerging Fire Safety Guidance and have interrogated and understood the implications of new legislation designed to maximise building safety, whilst maintaining efficient and deliverable design solutions.
We now relish the opportunity to respond to the new Government’s commitment to the delivery of an ambitious construction programme and continue to deliver the quality of design which is essential to its successful implementation.
Dynamic communities emerge from well considered development. We understand the vital contribution that residential development makes to the sustainable evolution of cities and create exceptional homes and communities through our designs.
1. Alameda, Brent
2. Alto Apartments, Brent
3. Belgravia Gate, Westminster
4. Bromley by Bow, Tower Hamlets
5. Buckingham Gate, Westminster
6. Candle Factory, Wandsworth
7. Cecil Avenue, Brent
8. Cheval Place, Westminster
9. Chapel Street, Salford
10. Chiswick Point, Ealing
11. Crescent House, Brent
12. Felixstowe, Bexley
13. Fisherton Street, Westminster
14. Fisherton Street Homes, Westminster
15. Harlow Quarter, Harlow
16. Hurlingham, Hammersmith & Fulham
17. Ion Building, Luton
18. Landsby, Brent
19. Milton Road, Harrow
20. Nova Building, Westminster
21. Nova Place, Westminster
22. One Crown Place, Hackney
23. Peninsular Quays, Greenwich
24. Snowfield Yard, Southwark
25. Thameside West, Newham
26. Ujima House, Brent
27. Union Building, Luton
28. Walnut Tree Road, Bexley
29. Walnut Tree Close, Guildford
30. Watercress, Hoddesdon
31. Waterloo & Queen Street, Havering
32. Wood Wharf, Tower Hamlets
33. 56 Shepherd’s Bush Green, Hammersmith & Fulham
The Candle Factory, Wandsworth Total
Chapel Street, Salford
Alto, Brent
Landsby East & West, Brent
Crescent House, Brent
Walnut Tree Road, Bexley
Ujima House, Brent
The Nova Building, Westminster
Bromley by Bow, Tower Hamlets
Harlow Quarter, Harlow
Total
Union & Ion Buildings, Luton
Total
Snowfield Yard, Southwark
Cecil Avenue, Brent
This pioneering project is the first step in Westminster Council’s long-term regeneration of the established Church Street neighbourhood, revitalising the area with new homes and state-of-theart community facilities which overall will provide huge economic benefit to the area.
Located between Edgware Road and Lisson Grove, Fisherton Street is a residential development providing a mix of affordable and private homes. Of the 168 modern new homes 106 are for private sale and 62 are designated affordable, including 12 affordable townhouses.
We specialise in collaborations to regenerate places for the people that live, work and spend time there. The regeneration of Church Street—home to one of London’s best-known antiques markets, Alfie’s–is also bringing new green spaces to the area, all underpinned by the ‘Green Spine’ which connects with the Fisherton Street development. This linear green route forms a green backbone for the regeneration of the local area, uniting the landscaped framework of parks, wellbeing and social experiences.
Fisherton Street is elegantly proportioned using traditionally hand laid brick. Two apartment buildings face the Green Spine and align with existing neighbouring residential buildings.
Architecturally, the scheme was conceived as a contemporary interpretation of a classic London mansion block that relates clearly to the scale and materiality of the neighbouring apartment buildings that were built in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.
Sculpturally the buildings appear as monolithic brick blocks carved to reveal their depth and mass into which delicate metal balconies are inserted. There is a consistent palette of materials across all buildings creating a holistic environment.
Entrances to the apartment buildings provide animation along the thoughtfully landscaped space and maximises footfall and activity.
Located beside the apartment block, there are 12 affordable family townhouses in two different typologies which also demonstrate further articulation to the scheme.
The regeneration of this largely disused industrial site with a residential redevelopment has made a positive contribution to the surrounding area.
The largely car free scheme includes 91 private and 33 affordable apartments. Commercial spaces activate the ground level and complete the programme.
It is situated between a railway viaduct to the north and a nature reserve to the south and the buildings are internally configured to ensure that all living spaces face south, to benefit from the open views out over the neighbouring nature reserve. The development is designed to be externally tenure blind.
The sinuous graceful building form is configured to optimise dual aspect residential accommodation, maximising daylight and sunlight into all living areas within apartments together with balconies providing generous private external amenity space that is predominantly south facing.
The zig zag configuration of the building footprint within the site allows the majority of the mass of the building form to be kept back from the site boundaries. As such
the relationship between the highest point of the building and the southern boundary adjacent to the neighbouring nature reserve is tall but slender, almost immediately receding back away from the southern boundary and the nature reserve
The buildings visual mass increases in height through ascending storeys from west to east by way of a series of stepping horizontal planes, rising to an anchor point at the eastern end of the floorplate.
Buildings are setback from the trainline to minimise acoustic impact.
A sinuous pedestrian route connects through the site and informs the building geometry.
Without appearing overbearing the buildings are set back from the nature reserve.
Views to the nature reserve are maximised with south facing living rooms.
Dwellings are either single aspect when south facing, or otherwise dual aspect. Living rooms enjoy large windows which maximise natural daylight and enhance the connection with the greenery of the nature reserve whilst bedrooms face northwards and have smaller windows set within deeper reveals to achieve a greater sense of privacy and security.
The redevelopment of the Crescent House site will deliver 307 homes, enable the creation of world class education facilities off site and is a landmark building fitting of its iconic and modern setting.
Crescent House will contribute muchneeded new homes to the Brent area, enhance the local retail landscape, and significantly elevate the overall quality of the public realm while prioritizing sustainability and environmental design aspects and residential quality.
The orthogonal alignment with Olympic Way in a N/S orientation is proposed
The tower comes to ground and faces Olympic Way. Greater articulation and slenderness is proposed on both axes to the tower.
The alignment with Wembley Park Drive creates an alternative orientation. The building here turns the corner to meet the tower and resolve the 2 geometries.
Greater articulation is required to resolve the junction between the 2 buildings and give the impression of separation between each building.
Expressed crown Setbacks for slenderness and expressed verticality
Stepped crown responds to stadium arch
Crescent HouseBuilding Envelope
Tower comes to ground
2 separate buildings
Vertical articulation and setbacks
2 separate buildings Recessed corners to maximise dual aspect & provide setbacks
Further articulation for slenderness
Expressed double storey heights and balconies Horizontal articulation
Private amenity to all buildings & maximised dual aspect provision
The design transforms the site from a college campus into a residential mixed-use scheme.
The project is targeting high energy efficiency and sustainability standards in line with the Brent and London Plan policies and the national Building Regulations Part L and Part O.
The proposed layouts have optimal orientation and glazing areas appropriately sized to provide balance between daylighting and overheating risk mitigation.
A fabric first approach will be utilised to minimise energy demand prior to the implementation of any low or zero carbon technologies
Efficient services will be incorporated including mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and highly efficient LED fittings.
A woodland glade not only provides a respite from urban life but also promotes biodiversity and preserves the essence of the woodland ecosystem within our urban setting.
Drawing inspiration from the unique setting of Wealdstone Brook the concept seeks to celebrate the wilderness of the brook by enhancing it and extending its naturalistic character across the site.
The concept of corner living and the articulated plan benefits residential quality by maximising dual aspect provision and balancing solar gain with daylight and sunlight whilst mitigating overheating impact.
0
Layout Analysis
4 units per core
Typical floor plate width: 28.2m Typical flat depth: 7m
Reduced glazing to bedrooms &
zones
provide shading to glazed living room areas
The Evolution of the tower form has been led by the rationale of moving balconies to the corners of the building with direct access from the living room.
Reduced windows to the south, east and west with shading provided by balconies benefits Daylight and Sunlight & reduces overheating impact.
Corner balconies provide an opportunity for a more dynamic serrated profile and balconies are semi recessed for greater perception of security and comfort.
Window sizes and placement respond to orientation and outlook. The Overheating assessment has found that all habitable residential rooms meet the Part O overheating risk criteria for the London Weather Centre DSY1 future weather data set (2020 High 50 Percentile).
The new London square, Elvin Square Gardens, is an attractive public space in the heart of Wembley Park. Elvin Square Gardens offers a landscaped garden square set between Alto, Landsby and the Brent Civic Centre. The pleasant green space honours the location’s heritage and reflects the rich woodland that was once present.
Set between Landsby East and West this pedestrian route connects Market Square / Samovar Space with Repton Gardens to the north. Weaver walk is the setting for locally focused shops and spaces for residents in the area.
Flanagan Lawrence collaborated with apprentices through an iterative process to help translate their initial conceptual ideas into realisable spatial solutions. The end result is a brightly coloured space with a commissioned floor mural by Lois O’Hara.
Landsby East and Alameda frame Olympic Way and provide the backdrop for this important axis to the stadium.
A welcoming hub for the local community
The Yellow is designed for the thriving community who live, work and study in Brent Park. With the aim of bringing people together, its programme of free and low cost events, workshops and classes are run by a team of over 100 local volunteers.
On the ground floor it includes a shared kitchen for cooking classes and community supper clubs, meeting rooms with TV’s and media players, performance studios and fully furnished breakout spaces. On the mezzanine area, and fully accessible, a fitness area includes gym and sport equipment.
Samovar Space is a vibrant inclusive space where young people can come together and socialise. The aim was to design a place to ‘just be’ and features dining, shelter and collaborative areas, including the purpose-built Brent Soundshell that hosts events throughout the year.
Three distinct zones accommodate for slight variations of how young adults ‘hang out’: Consume, Collaborate, and Calm. The Consume Zone is a place to informally gather to eat. Collaborate is a playscape distinctly for young adults to gather and engender a sense of socialization. Finally, the Calm Zone aims to bring the security of the home into the public sphere and offer a public, semi-outdoor living room.
Awards
Won: Eurocities Award 2023
Client Quintain
Commended: Brent Design Awards 2023
A joyful space which celebrates the diversity in the area
Flanagan Lawrence is a socially responsible organisation whose method of operation is based on ethical principles. We care about the way we do business and we’re proud that we do it responsibly, professionally and ethically. We believe that development projects can have a very positive impact on the local community, engendering interest and generating short and long term benefits to the wider local community.
Through our work on the Laidlaw Music Centre we supported a group of architecture students from the University of Edinburgh with a case study on the Laidlaw Music Centre. It helped students make connections between their professional practice experience and design studio by considering the logistical challenges involved in taking a building design through to completion.
Our involvement with this initiative comes from a belief that developments should provide the widest possible economic opportunity to people living in the local community. Located in the Yellow, at the heart of the Alto development, a programme of free and low cost events, workshops and classes are run by a team of over 100 local volunteers.
Samovar Space was created by apprentices as a place where young people could ‘hang out’ and be, without being told to move on. Flanagan Lawrence collaborated with apprentices through an iterative process to help translate their initial conceptual ideas into realisable spatial solutions. The end result is a brightly coloured space with a commissioned floor mural by Lois O’Hara.
As a practice we believe that good education opens up possibilities for children regardless of their background. We offer work experience to local schools to give pupils an insight into what a career in architecture could be like, and we actively contribute to the Open City Architecture in Schools programme.
For the Samovar Space the apprentices were from the London School of Economics (LSE) Apprenticeship in City Design. Flanagan Lawrence collaborated with the LSE apprentices to help realise their vision. With Dr Julia King from the LSE, the apprentices were engaged through the design and completion.
As part of our Social Value commitments on projects, the Milton Road project was used as a case study by Harrow College students studying Architecture, Interior and Product Design.
The Samovar Space project was completed in September 2022. The success of the project is evidenced by Open City contacting us about Samovar Space, as they are considering how Samovar Space could be integrated into a series of Architecture in Schools workshops for primary school pupils in Brent.
Following the introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 and its secondary legislation the way we design buildings is changing.
Buildings exceeding 18 meters or at least 7 stories in height are now subject to heightened levels of project oversight, ensuring clearer accountability for building safety during design, construction, and occupation.
Approved Document B has undergone changes. These changes have adopted a two-stair approach for HigherRisk Buildings.
During this period, Flanagan Lawrence have prepared designs that incorporate these requirements with the aim to maximise building safety while minimising Client risk.
The following collection of project case studies maps our journey through the transitional phases of this change and highlights different approaches to accommodate a dual core / two-stair building.
Layout Analysis
6 units per core
3 x 1B2P
2 x 2B4P
1 x 3B5P
Typical floor plate width: 20.5m
Typical flat depth: 7.9m
Dual aspect ratio: 83%
Key
Firefighting lift
Evacuation lift
Smoke extract
Fire / Residential stair
Fire stair lobby
Linear- Block Typology
Commentary
Two stair approach BS9991-2021 Draft compliant.
• 1 fire-fighting lift, 1 evacuation lift & fire stair to primary residential entrance core.
• 1 fire-fighting/evacuation lift & fire stair to satellite core.
The proposal incorporates two fire-fighting shafts in a primary (for day to day residential use) and satellite (for fire brigade access) arrangement.
Each stair core is independently lobbied from the communal corridor and positioned apart at either end of the building.
Strategy additions: Emergency communication system to all stair/lift lobbies, ADB compliant emergency evacuation alarm system, sprinkler system and mechanical smoke control system.
6 units per core
Key Typical floor plate width: 11.4m Typical flat depth: 5.1m
Firefighting lift
Linear- Block Typology
Evacuation lift
Smoke extract
Fire stair lobby 3 x 1B2P 2 x 2B4P 1 x 3B5P
Fire / Residential stair
Commentary
Two stair approach BS9991-2021 Draft compliant.
• 1 fire-fighting lift, 1 evacuation lift & fire stair to primary residential entrance core.
• 1 dual fire-fighting/evacuation lift & fire stair to satellite core.
The proposal incorporates two fire-fighting shafts in a primary (for day to day residential use) and satellite (for fire brigade access) arrangement.
Each stair core is independently lobbied from the communal corridor and positioned apart at either end of the building.
Strategy additions: Emergency communication system to all stair/lift lobbies, ADB compliant emergency evacuation alarm system, sprinkler system and mechanical smoke control system.
Project Summary
Stage
Stage 1
Location
Thameside West, Newham
Dwelling Nos 799
Proposal 11 / 23 storeys.
Team Summary
Client Keystone
Core Layout - Typical Floor
Layout Analysis
Typical floor plate width: 18m Typical flat depth: 7.5m Dual aspect ratio: 57%
Key
Firefighting lift
Linear- Block Typology
Evacuation lift
Smoke extract
Fire stair lobby 4 x 1B2P 2 x 2B4P
Fire / Residential stair
Commentary
Two stair approach BS9991-2021 Draft compliant.
• 1 fire-fighting lift, 1 evacuation lift & fire stair (primary).
• 1 dual fire fighting / evacuation lift & fire stair (secondary).
The proposal incorporates two fire-fighting shafts in a primary and secondary arrangement within a centralised combined core.
Each stair core is independently lobbied from the communal corridor and distanced / separated from the other by a cross corridor door.
Strategy additions: Emergency communication system to all stair/lift lobbies, ADB compliant emergency evacuation alarm system, sprinkler system and mechanical smoke control system.
Layout Analysis
8 units per core
5 x 1B2P 2 x 2B4P 1 x 3B5P
Typical floor plate width: 28.2m
Typical flat depth: 6.5 / 7m
Dual aspect ratio: 91%
Key
Firefighting lift
Evacuation lift
Smoke extract
Fire / Residential stair
Fire stair lobby
Point Block Typology
Commentary
Two stair approach BS9991-2021 Draft compliant.
• 1 fire-fighting lift, 1 evacuation lift & fire stair to both cores.
The proposal incorporates two full fire-fighting shafts within a centralised combined core.
Each stair core is independently lobbied from the communal corridor and distanced / separated from the other by a cross corridor door.
Strategy additions: Emergency communication system to all stair/lift lobbies, ADB compliant emergency evacuation alarm system, Sprinkler system and mechanical smoke control system.
Won
Better Society Awards
Built Environment category 2023
International Property Awards (IPA)
Best Mixed-Use Architecture - East of England region 2020
Best Development Marketing – East of England Region 2019
Best Mixed-Use Development – London Region 2019
First-Time Buyers Readers’ Award
Best Off-plan Development 2019
RESI Awards
Development of the Year 2018
The Hammersmith Society Environment Award 2022
Evening Standard New Homes Awards
Best Large Development 2023
What House? Awards
Bronze - Best Regeneration Scheme
Silver - Best Partnership 2023
The Sunday Times British Home Awards
Highly Commended 2017
Evening Standard Awards
Highly Commended 2017
Shortlisted
National Housing Awards
Best Large Scheme in Planning 2018
The Sunday Times British Home Awards
Development of the Year (more than 100 homes) 2018
NLA Mixed-Use 2018
World Architecture Awards
Completed Buildings: New and Old 2019
AJ Retrofit Awards
Housing £5 million and over 2019
INSIDE Festival Awards
Residential Interior Design Finalist 2017
Flanagan Lawrence is an award-winning, design-led practice of architects, masterplanners and interior designers based in London.
The practice has an impressive collective expertise across a broad range of public and private sectors and building typologies including large-scale commercial projects and high-end residential schemes, as well as cultural, hotel and leisure, and major masterplanning projects both in the UK and internationally. Flanagan Lawrence has worked with a diverse body of clients in both the private and public sectors.
Andrew Beasley
Andrew Hendry
Archimage
Chris Winter
Hufton + Crow
Jill Tate
Jim Stephenson
Nick Guttridge
Paul Eccleston
Paul Zanre
Piotr Krajewski
Pollitt and Partners
