Our designs for four mixed-use buildings across the Lea Bridge Station sites

Blog

Posted 5 years ago

Height strategy

The proposed buildings will range from three storeys to 26 storeys. In general we are proposing that building heights reduce towards the low-rise residential areas to the east.

Taken as a whole, the approach to building heights across the three sites responds well to the recent development of Beck Square. The five-storey block fronting Lea Bridge Road within the Beck Square development is echoed by Lea Bridge Station Site Two’s frontage to Lea Bridge Road. In a similar way to Beck Square, the taller buildings are located to the west towards the station.

Building up for much-needed new homes

Tall buildings must be considered if we are to meet the housing targets identified for the site, in the Council’s Local Plan.

Furthermore, with increased building heights comes an increase in the number of affordable homes we can provide on the Lea Bridge Station Sites. We have an ambition for 50% affordable homes, with 60% of those for London Affordable Rent and 40% for shared ownership. 10% of all homes will be wheelchair adaptable.

It is through our tall buildings that we will have the capacity to provide these new affordable homes, new facilities for local people to use, and new public spaces on-site.

Height breakdown

The variation in height shall compromise a complementary mix of towers, lower buildings with courtyards and terraced houses.

Site 1 

• Site 1 is formed of one tower of 26 storeys. Together with the tower on Site 3 they mark the gateway to Waltham Forest, creating a new arrival experience at Lea Bridge Station
• The building will be made up of predominately market housing with retail and commercial space at ground floor.

Site 2 

• A collection of buildings predominately made up of affordable housing with community-use facilities on the ground floor.
• A larger courtyard building rising to 11 storeys at its highest point, towards the road junction.
• A terrace building backing onto Elm Park Road, which ranges from three to five storeys. There is low height and massing to sensitively integrate the new proposals into the smaller scale existing neighbourhoods to the east.
• New public spaces, green space and a private courtyard space will maximise access to high-quality outdoor spaces for residents of the proposed affordable housing

Site 3 

• A tower of 23 storeys, providing a transition in scale between sites 1 and 2, whilst forming part of the ‘gateway’ entrance proposed for sites 1 and 3.
• Site 3 accommodates the second tallest building which is similar in form to tower 1 but could differ in its proportion, colouring and texture.
• The footprint, shape and massing of the two towers will produce long views with variety, at different angles to each other, picking up light at different times. The towers will be subtly rotated to provide a changing aspect from each angle as you travel around them, meaning that they will not present a long flat frontage from any single viewpoint. The six-sided shape of the towers will help slim the profile of the towers from any given angle, and their variation in height from one another will also help to create a dynamic relationship between the pair.

Our approach to massing

Building massing, heights and uses

Next steps

We now want to explore a material palette and architectural detailing for the proposed buildings that can further respond to the character of the area, contributing to a sense of place and ultimately creating something appropriate for Lea Bridge.

Survey

We want to hear your thoughts on our approach to massing and height across the three sites.

The survey should take three minutes of your time and is available here.

For information on how your data will be stored, please click here.