Marcon Place
Flourishes within tight constraints
Location
Hackney, London
Status
Completed
2015
Client
Budget
£3.1 million
RIBA workstages
Concept to Completion
Awards
Evening Standard New Homes 2016
This compact scheme provides affordable starter homes for specialist developer Pocket Living, exemplifying the ethos that high density housing can employ natural materials, a human scale and a generosity of communal spaces
Approach
Thirty one homes are arranged in four blocks, rising from four to five stories, around a landscaped courtyard, which forms the heart of the scheme. Apartments are accessed via external walkways organised around this communal outdoor space.
Zoom image
Plan of a typical one bedroom Pocket flat
Design
All four corners of the development are open, letting sunlight into the courtyard, and preserving long views across the development. Single storey entrance spaces between the two halves of the development reinforce the importance of natural light.
The blocks are clad in robust London stock brick, complemented by slatted timber circulation spaces, which allow natural light and air circulation at the same time as providing a sense of privacy and enclosure from the elements. Against this earthy material palette the balustrades, staircases and signage are articulated in standout London bus red.
