{"id":769896,"date":"2025-01-15T08:28:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T08:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=769896"},"modified":"2025-01-15T13:07:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T13:07:24","slug":"rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate","title":{"rendered":"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The building sits as an infill to a courtyard created by other houses and flats owned by Hackney-based housing association Shian Housing, as well as the Grade II-listed Pitfield Street Library.<\/p>\n

On the library’s exterior, glazed tiles echo the interior of the Hoxton Baths which occupied the site before being demolished after the war. The six new homes make use of the brownfield land which, until recently, had just been used as storage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With an asymmetric roof, the building minimises its impact on the former library building\u2019s daylight. A simple internal layout allows every flat to be dual- or triple-aspect, accessible from a central core. A new opening has been made in the historic wall along Bowling Green Walk, providing views into the Symister Mews courtyard. Above this wall sits one of the building\u2019s three deep projecting balconies. These and a ground-floor terrace mean all of the flats have access to external space.<\/p>\n

RCKa came to the project after being asked by Shian Housing in 2016, to review its estate portfolio and identify possible sites for development. The housing association was founded in the late 80s to help people from ethnic minority backgrounds find general needs housing within the borough. It now manages nearly 500 homes in Hackney, Islington and Haringey.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Architect\u2019s view<\/h3>\n

Small sites, particularly those in urban areas, can be disproportionately challenging to deliver \u2013 both in terms of securing planning consent, and also financial viability. These two factors are often in conflict with one another: a constrained site may demand a highly bespoke design solution but this comes with a cost premium.<\/p>\n

At Symister Mews, the proximity of the site to the existing houses immediately to the east and the listed library to the west meant that the developable envelope was limited.<\/p>\n

Our response was to deliver an efficient internal layout with corner living rooms, allowing us to place large balconies in strategic locations to make the most of views and to animate the exterior. The green external metalwork recalls the history of the site, matching the colour of the glazed tiles of the bathhouse still to be found around the edges of the site.<\/p>\n

This project demonstrates how public landowners can eke out high-quality homes from their existing estates. In themselves, schemes like this will make a limited dent in our desperate housing need, but in combination with other similar projects across the city, small sites can make a big difference.
\nRussell Curtis, director, RCKa<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"

Upper floor plan<\/p>\n\t

Source:RCKa<\/p><\/div>\n

Project data<\/h3>\n

Start on site<\/strong> July 2017
\nCompletion date<\/strong> September 2024
\nGross internal floor area<\/strong> 483m2<\/sup>
\nForm of contract or procurement route<\/strong> Design and Build
\nArchitect<\/strong> RCKa
\nExecutive architect<\/strong> TOCA Teri Okoro
\nClient<\/strong> Shian Housing Association
\nStructural engineer<\/strong> Calford Seaden
\nM&E consultant<\/strong> Peter Deer and Associates
\nFire consultant<\/strong> Pyrolec Consultancy
\nTransport consultant<\/strong> Pulsar
\nContractor<\/strong> Dial 1st Construction
\nParty wall surveyor<\/strong> Teri Okoro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The building sits as an infill to a courtyard created by other houses and flats owned by Hackney-based housing association Shian Housing, as well as the Grade II-listed Pitfield Street Library. On the library’s exterior, glazed tiles echo the interior of the Hoxton Baths which occupied the site before being demolished after the war. The …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17128,"featured_media":770578,"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":[2606,100510,1411,49917,2292],"yoast_head":"\nRCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The practice has transformed a former storage site near Old Street into six new social tenure homes\" \/>\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\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The practice has transformed a former storage site near Old Street into six new social tenure homes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-15T08:28:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-15T13:07:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/14175330\/Pitfield-St-13-%C2%A9-Agnese-Sanvitocrop-1024x682.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ellen Peirson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ellen Peirson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate\",\"name\":\"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-15T08:28:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-15T13:07:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/36a28a7db64bba59a5ae92ee4c9b3316\"},\"description\":\"The practice has transformed a former storage site near Old Street into six new social tenure homes\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News & Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/36a28a7db64bba59a5ae92ee4c9b3316\",\"name\":\"Ellen Peirson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/35d84b993d31b8ba7239d3cf7a6863f0\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25751fae3b65a63577223b4274375c75?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25751fae3b65a63577223b4274375c75?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ellen Peirson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/ellen-peirson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate","description":"The practice has transformed a former storage site near Old Street into six new social tenure homes","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate","og_description":"The practice has transformed a former storage site near Old Street into six new social tenure homes","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2025-01-15T08:28:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-15T13:07:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/14175330\/Pitfield-St-13-%C2%A9-Agnese-Sanvitocrop-1024x682.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ellen Peirson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ellen Peirson","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate","name":"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-15T08:28:02+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-15T13:07:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/36a28a7db64bba59a5ae92ee4c9b3316"},"description":"The practice has transformed a former storage site near Old Street into six new social tenure homes","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/rcka-completes-infill-housing-development-on-hackney-estate#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"RCKa completes infill housing development on Hackney estate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News & Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/36a28a7db64bba59a5ae92ee4c9b3316","name":"Ellen Peirson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/35d84b993d31b8ba7239d3cf7a6863f0","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25751fae3b65a63577223b4274375c75?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25751fae3b65a63577223b4274375c75?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ellen Peirson"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/ellen-peirson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769896"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769896"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":770596,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769896\/revisions\/770596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}