Bridging the gap
The scheme at Rye Hill Park, Peckham is part of Southwark Council’s ‘New Council Homes’ programme, a commitment to deliver 11,000 new homes by 2043 and to improve underused sites and existing estates.
The site comprises the existing garage compound, as well as adjacent land to the north. It forms part of the wider Rye Hill Park estate of three 12 storey tower blocks, a four storey maisonette block and a single storey tenants and residents association hall, all laid out around a generous landscape with mature trees and play space. The design was developed through extensive consultation, in accordance with Southwark’s Charter of Principles, primarily through open public meetings.
Placing landscape at the development’s heart
Two new, linked volumes successfully bridge the gap between the existing taller blocks to the north and the lower blocks in the south while also responding to the significant level change across the site.
The new buildings define the edge of the existing open space and wrap around the mature tree that sits directly to the east of the site. The layout of the blocks encourages interaction between residents and the open space, by bringing residents in direct contact with, or providing views towards, the existing landscape as they circulate through the building.
An efficient internal arrangement ensures units stack from first floor up, with wheelchair units provided at the upper ground floor, and entrance and servicing located at the lower ground floor. Generous balconies and access decks are expressed as cut-outs of the main mass of the building. Larger balconies are located on corners to benefit from dual aspect, and have green glazed brick walls to reflect the surrounding landscape. New landscaped entrance squares help knit the proposal with the existing estate, and connect with existing desire lines between homes, the landscape and the local transport network.