This project turned an underused carpark into a beautiful, liveable community by inserting four new, sustainable, timber buildings into the site reinvigorating the common spaces for all residents.

The new courtyard housing in Stratford, London, is an infill development of nine new flats in elegant, landscaped courtyard buildings. In line with the Sustainable Community Strategy 2010-2030, the development provides additional homes for Newham borough designed for a variety of tenants and their accessibility and needs. The scheme is innovative for:

Under-resourced communities:
Designing bespoke mews-like homes around landscaped courtyards created a haven for the tenants on a previously underused carpark site used for fly-tipping and crime. The courtyards form a secure space for the community’s children and adults to play and gather with the addition of substantial landscaping and the reduction of car parking spaces. The creation of safe communal spaces was prioritised to cultivate social interaction and sense of belonging, testifying to how the development went above and beyond in providing good quality of life to under-resourced communities in Newham.

Operational carbon and energy management & circular economy:
Net zero carbon strategies were imbedded from early stages. Building on a brownfield site to provide modern homes and amenities enabled avoiding any demolition or construction on greenfield sites. The housing was designed to be built in cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure through a DfMA approach and included edge-to-edge PV panelled on the pitched roofs to marry high performance with stunning aesthetic. The whole dry construction is demountable and reusable in case of demolition. The One Click analysis done gave a carbon result very similar to retrofit per sqm during construction. In operation the early strategic decisions resulted alignment with LETI and RIBA Good Practice 2020.

Minimise disruption to communities:
A seamless few weeks on-site assembly followed the decision to use CLT structure. This also addressed the community’s significant noise concern. The project is a result of addressing the concerns and aspirations of the community.

The prefabricated buildings were constructed in a short time with minimal disruption to neighbourhood. By creating intimate landscaped courtyards in the underused carpark, the development contributes to the security and greening of the area - Laura Carrara-Cagni, Director, EWA