Project Details
- Client Name: Catalyst Housing Ltd and Catalyst by Design
- Project Value: £32m
- Sector: Residential
- Services: Project management, Employer’s agent , Cost consultancy, CDM coordinator
- Key partners: London Borough of Brent, Willmott Dixon, Hester Architects, Rick Mather Architects, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, Alison Brooks Architects
- Contact: Neil Hope – 0208 294 8323
This award-winning regeneration scheme is located close to Kilburn Park underground station. It is an early phase of the two-hectare masterplan prepared for South Kilburn Estate that will eventually see 2,400 new homes built.
Working with Catalyst and Willmott Dixon, and with separate architects acting as design guardians, Baily Garner delivered project management, employer’s agent and cost consultant services.
This work has delivered 208 high quality mixed-tenure homes for rent and private sale across three sites.
A major redevelopment
Located within an existing housing estate, the major redevelopment works consist of the demolition of several former council-owned properties (Bond House, Hicks-Bolton House, Ely Court, and Cambridge and Wells Courts), and the construction of 208 new homes with associated retail unit and site-wide hard and soft landscaping, split over three sites running concurrently.
Buildings comprise of a mixture of four- to six-storey blocks and a four-storey mews block, all built to achieve Code for Sustainable Homes level three. The project, procured under a JCT Design and Build Contract, has been well received by the client, residents and the construction media.
Combining traditional and modern
The redevelopment reinstates the urban form and street pattern which characterised the area before post-war development – a traditional model of villas fronting the main road with corresponding mews houses to the rear.
The various blocks provide strong, continuous, formal street frontages with modern brick facades, whilst behind this the form of the development is less formal, creating shared surfaces, play areas, parking, and secure, shared gardens.
Celebrating a rich cultural history
The new homes have been marketed with a campaign celebrating the rich cultural history of South Kilburn, following a theme inspired by Kilburn’s musical heritage:
- Empire Mansions is named after the Kilburn Empire – a well known music hall and circus built in 1908.
- Dury Place was inspired by Ian Dury, whose first band was called Kilburn and the High Roads.
- Harlequin Mansions remembers Kilburn High Road’s famous 1970s record shop Harlequin Records.
The development is a stones throw from another famous resident’s statue within St Augustine School: that of Bradley Wiggins who, upon winning the Tour de France, said “Kids from Kilburn aren’t supposed to win the Tour”.
An award-winning project
The new Ely Court has achieved the following awards:
- Winner – RIBA London Awards 2016
- Winner – Housing Design Awards 2016
- Finalist – EU Mies van der Rohe Award 2017
