{"id":768996,"date":"2025-01-06T10:38:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T10:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=768996"},"modified":"2025-01-06T12:49:18","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T12:49:18","slug":"hta-design-completes-pocket-living-homes-in-north-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/hta-design-completes-pocket-living-homes-in-north-london","title":{"rendered":"HTA Design completes Pocket Living homes in north London"},"content":{"rendered":"

The scheme has been built on previously disused Transport for London (TfL) land next to Woodside Park station and is bordered by the Northern Line tube.<\/p>\n

The apartments, designed in exposed brick, frame a central courtyard and concrete stair cores that look out towards surrounding parks in Barnet. With residential gardens to the west, the courtyard has a 3m-high level change that slopes from north to south across the constrained site.<\/p>\n

The scheme features hit-and-miss brickwork in a double-leaf monk bond pattern designed in collaboration with the contractor and a fa\u00e7ade specialist. This brings in soft light into the communal areas.<\/p>\n

The mottled red brickwork and detailing echo the character of the locally-listed St Barnabas Church adjacent to the site.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The 37m\u00b2 one-bedroom flats are repeated throughout, meaning the fa\u00e7ade has a rigid order emphasised by bays and soldier-course banding on each level, as well as projecting header brickwork that adds depth and texture to the top floor.<\/p>\n

As with other Pocket Living schemes, there is also a shared roof terrace for communal use.<\/p>\n

Developer Pocket Living delivers homes for first-time buyers, which are sold outright to buyers at a 20 per cent discount. Buyers must work or live in the local area. The aim is to give local people a path to home ownership.<\/p>\n

In February 2023, the AJ covered a Reed Watts-designed scheme<\/a> consisting of 78 homes for Pocket Living in Barking. Other architects who have worked on or are working on Pocket Living schemes are Gort Scott, Bell Phillips, McGregor White Architects, Up Architects and Stephen Taylor Architects<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Architect\u2019s view<\/h2>\n

Woodside Park is HTA\u2019s fourth project with Pocket Living, standing out not only for its affordability but for its thoughtful response to the site\u2019s constraints. Grounded in respect for the natural environment and surrounding suburban character, the design approach was shaped by the concept of an \u2018urban retreat\u2019, offering a calm escape from the buzz of city life.<\/p>\n

Focal to the scheme is a central courtyard, strategically designed to follow the natural topography of the site, which slopes 3m from north to south and has a banked eastern boundary against the Northern Line into Woodside Park station. Sculpted external staircases lead to separate roof terraces, offering residents a moment of respite with sweeping views of the surrounding greenery.<\/p>\n

One of the most striking features of the design is the innovative use of hit-and-miss brickwork. This technique allows light to filter through the stairwells, casting dynamic shadows both on the recessed fa\u00e7ades and within the internal cores. This not only serves a functional purpose \u2013 providing natural light to typically darker areas \u2013 but also adds a layer of texture and richness to the materiality of the building. The roughness of the brickwork and the sculptural nature of the external staircases imbue the development with a tactile quality that complements the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n

Reflective of local vernacular, the architecture makes reference to its context while embracing contemporary approaches to design. The fenestration, a key element of the building, is modern but restrained, designed to capture the area\u2019s suburban character. Protruding Flemish bonds and horizontal red brick coursing reflect the architectural language of nearby buildings, particularly St Barnabas Church.<\/p>\n

The communal and corridor spaces have been specially designed to enhance residents\u2019 user experience. The recessed apartment entrances are distinguished through the use of bold colours and geometric patterned floor tiles, which add a playful touch while providing a sense of identity for each resident. These small but thoughtful details offer significant value to the residents at minimal commercial cost, proving that design quality doesn\u2019t have to be compromised in affordable housing.<\/p>\n

Woodside Park is testament to how thoughtful design can transform a challenging site into a community-focused development for people and place. Creatively playing off its suburban context, the project demonstrates that affordable housing can be both architecturally rich and highly livable, offering quality of life for residents without sacrificing design integrity.
\nRhea Shepherd, <\/em>associate partner and senior architect, HTA Design<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Client’s view<\/h2>\n

We are proud to deliver our first scheme in Barnet to provide good quality affordable homes for the local people. Woodside Park is a good example of how a narrow, under-utilised TfL storage facility site against the tube line can be carefully regenerated to provide much needed, high quality affordable homes in the London Borough of Barnet.<\/p>\n

HTA Design has demonstrated that exceptional design in buildings can still be achieved even with a clever use of a single brick type, to create depth to the brickwork facades, through hit and miss brickwork, projecting brick headers and vertical brick banding. The singular red tone through the traditional red mottled brick and colour matched metal detailing provides a striking presence along the tube line which has helped rejuvenate Woodside Park station and the local area.<\/p>\n

The communal roof terraces are also a real success supporting biodiversity and providing our residents social and tranquil spaces as an opportunity to form a community amongst stunning views across the city and rural landscaping.
\nDemos Ioannou, senior design manager, Pocket Living<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Project data<\/h2>\n

Start on site<\/strong> January 2022
\nCompletion<\/strong>\u00a0February 2024
\nGross internal floor area<\/strong> 5,017m2<\/sup>
\nGross (internal + external) floor area<\/strong> 5,451m2<\/sup>
\nForm of contract or procurement route<\/strong> JCT Design & Build
\nConstruction cost<\/strong> Undisclosed
\nArchitect<\/strong> HTA Design
\nClient<\/strong> Pocket Living
\nStructural engineer<\/strong> Whitby Wood
\nM&E consultant<\/strong> Meinhardt
\nQS<\/strong> HG Construction
\nFire engineer<\/strong> Jensen Hughes
\nLandscape consultant<\/strong> HTA Design
\nAcoustic consultant<\/strong> KP Acoustic
\nProject manager<\/strong> WT Partnership
\nPrincipal designer<\/strong> HG Construction
\nCDM co-ordinator<\/strong> HG Construction
\nApproved building inspector<\/strong> Clarke Banks
\nMain contractor<\/strong> HG Construction
\nCAD software used<\/strong> Revit<\/p>\n

Environmental performance data<\/h2>\n

On-site energy generation<\/strong> 35%
\nAnnual mains water consumption<\/strong> 2,982 m3<\/sup>\/occupant
\nAirtightness at 50Pa<\/strong> 2.5 m3<\/sup>\/h.m2
\n<\/sup>Heating and hot water load<\/strong> 54 kWh\/m2<\/sup>\/yr
\nOverall area-weighted U-value<\/strong> 0.18 W\/m2<\/sup>K
\nAnnual CO2<\/sub> emissions<\/strong> 12 kgCO2<\/sub>eq\/m2<\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The scheme has been built on previously disused Transport for London (TfL) land next to Woodside Park station and is bordered by the Northern Line tube. The apartments, designed in exposed brick, frame a central courtyard and concrete stair cores that look out towards surrounding parks in Barnet. With residential gardens to the west, the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59337,"featured_media":769030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[2612,1155,5578,3320],"yoast_head":"\nHTA Design completes Pocket Living homes in north London<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HTA Design has completed 86 homes for developer Pocket Living on a narrow brownfield site beside Woodside Park station in Barnet, north London\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/hta-design-completes-pocket-living-homes-in-north-london\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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