New London Architecture
St Raphael’s Estate Masterplan
Proposed
The renewal of the St Raphael’s Estate in Wembley, North London unites a disconnected neighborhood to provide better quality council homes, public spaces and new civic infrastructure.
St Raphael’s Estate sits within the Stonebridge ward of the London Borough of Brent, with the North Circular Road to the south and the River Brent to the west. The estate is made up of 759 homes with the majority owned and managed by Brent Council and includes a number of commercial units and community organisations. Brent Council appointed Karakusevic Carson Architects in July 2019 to lead a multi-disciplinary design team working closely with residents. The practice conducted an intensive series of workshops to establish community priorities for the area and investigate opportunities and constraints around the themes of ‘home’, ‘community’ and ‘sustainability’. Workshops were supplemented with resident-led guided walks and visits to completed projects with talks with residents who have been through the process on other projects. Additionally, skills workshops by The Glasshouse Community Led Design team to helped give residents the urban design tools to fully contribute to the process. Led by designers, these sessions were separate from the process and gave residents space to ask questions about design development and planning and explore ideas without being constrained by the specific circumstances of the St Raphael’s Estate.Information gathered was then analysed and incorporated into proposals and communicated back to residents at exhibitions for further comment and refinement. Bringing residents into the heart of the process and giving them time to come to terms with design concepts and the scale of change, allowed the masterplan to develop with their support. With mutual understanding of priorities, normally tricky conversations about parking or density became nuanced discussions around support for local businesses and alternatives to car dominated streets. Residents were keen to understand the sustainability of proposals and advocated strongly for the inclusion of passive measures that would keep the running cost of new homes and community buildings affordable.
Improving the lived experience of St Raphael’s residents has and remains a priority for the Council and designs for the estate reflect this ambition.
Zak Rezig,
Senior Development Manager
Housing Supply & Partnerships
London Borough of Brent.
Project information
Status
Proposed
Borough
Brent
Size
214000 sq m
Completion
2028
Team Credits
Architect
Karakusevic Carson Architects LLP
Project Manager
Network Homes
Landscape Architect
Periscope
Structural Engineer
Lewis Hubbard Engineering
Civils
Lewis Hubbard Engineering
MEP Engineering
Planning Consultant
Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design
Community & Engagement Collaborator
Beyond the Box Consultants, The Glass House Community-led Design, London Wildlife Trust
Quantity Surveyor
Baily Garner
Transport Consultant
CDM Advisor
Silver
Fire Engineer
BB7
Lighting Designer
Light Follows Behaviour
Sunlight/Daylight Consultant
Waldrams
Air Quality Consultant
Air Quality Consultancy
Acoustic Consultant
KP Acoustics
Ecological Consultant
Future Nature Consulting
Heritage Consultant
Gareth Jones Heritage Planning
Townscape Consultant
Neaves Urbanism
Listed by
Last updated on
31/05/2024
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