Edith Summerskill House

The design proposes to make social housing civic and to do this with a grounded high-rise. The 21-storey tower elevates the experience of affordable housing. It replaces an existing smaller tower on the site, increasing the number of homes from 68 to 133. The plan comprises two overlapping squares. On the skyline this gives the impression that there are two towers, one in front of the other. This improves the proportions of the facades, and the apparent slenderness of the tower. Inside, the additional corners mean 75% of the flats – and living spaces - are dual aspect. A standard repeating floorplate accommodates the mix of flats, simplifying the design and construction of the building. Each flat is planned around a dual aspect corner living space. The façades use two ordering systems. The first, of a domestic scale, consists of 684 portrait windows and Juliet balconies evenly distributed around the building’s perimeter. In front of this, a second structural order of pilasters and arches addresses the scale of the city. Knowing that the building will be seen from near and far, arches occur at 2-storey intervals on the lower floors and every third storey above. The arches re-scale the building. Chiaroscuro is the process of accentuating three-dimensional form through the gradation of light and shade. The design employs this phenomenon to increase the apparent depth of the façade through the varying textures of its precast concrete elements. Smooth projecting concrete arches on the face of the building cast shadows on the sinusoidal profile of the inner leaf, intensifying the distinction between foreground and background. The sinusoidal profile is a playful reference to the folds of open curtains. The superstructure and facades of the building will be constructed entirely from precast concrete components. The facades are formed from modular precast concrete sandwich panels with windows pre-installed in the factory, providing both the external finish and perimeter structure, eliminating the structural frame. An arcade at street level establishes a north-south route between the Nineteenth Century streets and Welfare State housing. The base of the building is conceived as a rusticated brick base, distinct from the precast concrete façades above, providing a tactile quality at street level. Its elevations are animated with large arches and various other openings that respond to the needs and character of the various ground floor spaces which include a communal lounge for residents. It is unusual to develop single tenure affordable housing in a high-rise. Mindful of this, we sought to play down the functional, and to play up the civic and communal dimensions in the design of the facades, the arcade, the lounge and common hallways throughout the building.