Ebury Edge is a temporary development combining community space, a café, affordable work and retail spaces. Together, they give the estate a lively new street presence and shelter a shared courtyard, offering a continuous focal point for the community of the Ebury Bridge Estate throughout its phased re-development. 

Two storeys of workspace units form a colourful timber-clad terrace along Ebury Bridge Road. Together with the frontage of the cafe, housed with a community hall in a distinct, single storey structure these work to create an active edge to the Estate through its transition.

Westminster City Council is undertaking its most ambitious regeneration programme of this time. Redevelopment of the Ebury Bridge Estate in Pimlico will provide 781 mixed tenure homes, including full re-provision of social housing and right to return for all residents. 

Ebury Edge sets a new precedent by embracing the creative potential of the regeneration process. By bringing community amenities to the Estate in advance of long-term redevelopment, the scheme gives residents continuity, enables local businesses, and will root long-term redevelopment into its context. The design and consultation approach has resulted in a striking visual character, reflecting residents' wishes to invite communities old and new into the renewed Estate.

The site previously housed a vacant 1950's block notorious for criminal activity. The scheme creates a clear, active street edge to the Estate while connecting to existing green space to the rear. As pandemic restrictions lift, Ebury Edge provides well-overlooked spaces for residents to meet safely outdoors, alongside infrastructure for local businesses to begin the process of economic recovery. 

17 small businesses are gaining a foothold in their first small, affordable premises, and will go on to inform the long-term retail strategy. Fat Macy’s operate the café while providing catering training for homeless people. The community space hosts childcare and well-being activities with local groups.

Construction combines pre-fabricated timber components common in house-building in a demountable system that can be re-erected elsewhere when the site is re-developed in ca. 4 years. Timber allows easy customisation while keeping the building light, minimising foundations and embodied carbon.

Benjamin Prosky