The Kilburn Quarter lost its Victorian housing as a result of intensive aerial bombardment in World War Two. Subsequent housing development gave rise to a series of isolated estates and two towers, Bronte and Fielding Houses, which were raised on a bleak podium surrounded by car parking.
The scheme restores the historic streetscape, and responds directly to the mansion block typologies found in the local area, to create spacious light-filled apartments that look out onto communal gardens. The tile-hung West Block ‘mansion terrace’ follows a classic layout of two apartments per floor, with central stair and lift cores at frequent intervals that also provide access to the gardens. The top floor is set back to reduce the apparent scale of the building, and the roofline is animated by two-storey dormers and studio balconies. The new tree-lined frontage onto Kilburn Park Road demonstrates the area’s potential to add to London’s tradition of great residential streetscapes.
In addition to the modern interpretation of the mansion block, the procurement route and consultation strategy were both innovative in their ground-up, collaborative approach. After planning consent, LDS was novated as Lead Consultant with ABA as sub-consultant to United Living, the Design and Build Contractor.
The consultation strategy was delivered without the support of planning or public relations consultants. Brent and LDS worked together to form a direct line of communication to resident’s design groups, resulting in an excellent opportunity to understand and communicate concerns and ideas to the planning department.
