Hawley Wharf

Hawley Wharf transforms an underused piece of city, in the heart of Camden Town, into a vibrant mixed-use development. The project enhances the area’s strong identity and creates a vibrant new quarter for the benefit of the local community, users and visitors alike. Camden is famous for its markets and attracts huge numbers of visitors. It is an area of historic significance and a connection point where roads, railways and canal intersect, resulting in the site’s irregular geometry and complex infrastructural constraints. Prior to development, the site was poorly connected with few access routes across the site. The existing towpath was in a dilapidated condition and the viaducts arches had become known for anti-social behaviour. AHMM was appointed in 2012 to develop a masterplan in consultation with the local community and other stakeholders, who had opposed previous proposals. The full planning application was approved in January 2013. Reserved Matters consent for Hawley School was received in January 2015. The client purchased an additional site adjacent to the Regents Canal, so an application was made to extend the canal-side residential building to incorporate this site, which was approved in September 2015. Hawley Wharf consists of eight new buildings – set amongst the existing railway viaducts – and two refurbished buildings, including the Grade II Listed 1 Hawley Road. The project provides affordable and private homes, a primary school, workplace and retail units, workshops, a cinema and new market buildings. The scheme provided an opportunity to reconnect this under-used site to its surroundings and regenerate the wider area. The new buildings create distinctive spaces, each connected by welcoming streets, accessible open spaces and new public realm. The boundary to the south addressing the Regents Canal and the two viaducts crossing the site, acted as the generators for the complex geometry of the buildings. Requirements for clear access to the viaducts for maintenance generated generous pedestrian routes near the arches, with buildings offset to follow the curves of the viaducts. The irregular geometry of the residential buildings has resulted in a broad range of apartment types. There are 100 apartment types over 195 units which create a unique character. This is further enhanced by the different types of balcony, which both maximise views across the site and offer panoramic views of London. In terms of construction, the residential buildings are made of a concrete superstructure comprising of post-tensioned flat slabs supported on reinforced concrete columns and walls. A particular challenge was the construction of a very deep basement in one of the residential buildings to house the cinema. Due to the close proximity of buildings and structures, along with the sensitivity to movement of adjacent railway viaducts and National Grid assets, the basement was built using a top-down construction method. This allowed the superstructure above to be built at the same time as the basement was excavated, thus shortening the construction programme. Five fire damaged houses on Chalk Farm Road have been converted to create a new high street frontage for the Market Buildings behind. These two new buildings provide a flexible space that can accommodate different tenants and layouts. The lower four storeys consist of open and flexible floorplates for market stalls and are made of a brick wall anchoring the building to the ground completed with an open terracotta fin facade above. The facade acts as a screen concealing the assortment of market units, unifies the building, while allowing views out and light in. A thermally enclosed storey on the second floor provides additional office spaces. On the third floor, two rooftop pavilions, designed for restaurant use, open out to public terraces. Circulation spaces are generously sized, with steel staircases and bridges linking the three buildings. Finishes throughout are high quality and robust to withstand the wear and tear associated with the anticipated high number of visitors. The concrete structure (a mix of in-situ RC and PT slabs with precast columns and Twinwall cores) is left exposed and a very high quality has been achieved through a process of discussion and specification, developed in close partnership with the subcontractor. Honest detailing is expressed very legibly throughout the buildings to give a flexible and robust shell which can adapt to occupiers’ requirements. Hawley School, the first built phase of the masterplan, is a single-form entry school arranged around an intimate central courtyard. The three-storey building’s stepped massing correlates with students’ progression through the learning years. A neutral palette of materials was selected to create a welcoming space, a Flemish bond brickwork facade wraps a warmer Larch glulam timber cloister. There is a common palette of materials across the site which references the local context. Each building in the masterplan, relates to its immediate setting and forms part of a coherent family with clear commonalities and differences expressed through the use of colour and detailing. New routes linking north-south and east-west, to follow pedestrian desire lines, were created to meet anticipated visitor numbers. Certain routes will be closed to the public after hours to address safety concerns in an area which has a history of crime and anti-social behaviour. Acting as the unifying spine across the site, thirty of the viaduct arches have been enclosed to create retail units, with a simple palette of glazed curtain wall to the fronts and mezzanine levels, with brick infills to the rear. Steel table-top structures with a timber floor have been inserted where possible. The arches have been lined to protect against damp permeating from the brick viaduct structures, and then finished with ply boards left exposed for tenants to fit out. The project was completed in March 2019. By stitching the site back into its surroundings, Hawley Wharf, rejuvenates Camden and creates a new destination accessible to all.