{"id":727389,"date":"2024-01-25T08:53:50","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T08:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=727389"},"modified":"2024-01-25T08:53:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T08:53:50","slug":"seemingly-insurmountable-problems-can-have-solutions-if-the-ambition-is-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/seemingly-insurmountable-problems-can-have-solutions-if-the-ambition-is-there","title":{"rendered":"Seemingly insurmountable problems can have solutions if the ambition is there"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may be freezing where you are, and our suitably austere January cover star (pictured<\/em>, thank you, Child Graddon Lewis!) isn\u2019t an obviously heartwarming choice. But dig a little deeper and the backstory to this residential-led, mixed-use scheme for Westminster City Council in North Paddington uncovers an estate regeneration project with a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Harrow Road scheme was changed mid-construction, by a freshly elected Labour council, from being 50 per cent earmarked for private sale (and only 17 homes for social rent) to 100 per cent affordable rent (increased to 77 social homes). On top of that, the project also switched to being powered by 100 per cent renewables (it was originally going to be mixed-mode) through a communal air source heat pump serving the entire scheme, with supplementary PVs.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the AJ\u2019s Fran Williams explores in her excellent article<\/a>, the shift presented technical issues, and some design implications are evident \u2013 for example where second bathrooms have been removed or stripped back. But, overall, the flats are generously sized, with good views, too. There\u2019s no doubt that relationships will have been key here, with teamwork to the fore.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Harrow Road scheme is a positive example of two massive challenges facing local communities \u2013 the housing and climate crises \u2013 being actively addressed at a local level with an engaged public sector client, nimble architect and political will. Of course, it isn\u2019t easy to effect changes such as these. But this project shows that seemingly insurmountable problems can have solutions if the ambition is there.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, there\u2019s a lot of ambition addressing key challenges in this issue of the AJ. For another example, the first residents have moved into a \u00a324 million build-to-rent scheme in Manchester\u2019s Northern Quarter, designed by local practice Tim Groom Architects. The investment for this \u2018modern mill\u2019 came from London-based Cheyne Capital\u2019s Impact Real Estate Fund, set up to tackle the UK\u2019s shortage of affordable housing.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, while the path to genuine circular construction can be a very bumpy one, take inspiration from a mixed-use project which sees the retrofit and conversion of a historic barrel-loading hall at a former Berlin brewery. Architects Die Zusammenarbeiter (\u2018The Collaborators\u2019) and their colleagues have gone to extraordinary lengths to reuse materials \u2013 it\u2019s a fascinating case study.<\/span><\/p>\n

None of this is easy. But, as David Green, director of Belsize Architects (and a former Bank of England economist) writes<\/a> in a letter to the AJ this month: don\u2019t underestimate the desire to \u2018get things sorted out\u2019 in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribers can read the January issue here<\/a>, or it can be purchased from the AJ Shop<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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