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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. 1 Godson Street in London, England by Edgley DesignOctober 6th, 2016 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Edgley Design Godson Street is a new-build 1,015 sq m mixed-use development in Islington, central London. It is the result of a Community Joint Venture, set up by three partner groups who were neighbours of the vacant brownfield site and came together to purchase the site and develop it in partnership.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design
 Image Courtesy © Edgley Design Five mixed use buildings are created, with commercial space to ground and basement and residential apartments above, and a townhouse to the north. The final scheme expresses the individuality of its stakeholders in a varied but unified contemporary terrace, which repairs the formal streetscape of what had become a forgotten back street.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The three partner groups were led by Jake Edgley (director of Edgley Design), Chris Joannou (CKS partnership) and James Engel (director of Spaced Out Ltd). Edgley Design were the lead architects of the scheme, working closely with Spaced Out Ltd in the development of the concept and strategy for the scheme.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The project is an adaptation of the commonly used typology of commercial units with residential above, in a terrace arrangement defined by a zinc clad saw-toothed profile. It comprises five duplex commercial units with maisonette 2-bedroom apartments above, culminating in a 3-storey upside-down house with 2 bedrooms in the basement and living spaces on the floors above.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The overall concept was to re-imagine the Georgian houses that once occupied the site and were demolished in the 1970s. The design retains a lightwell to the front and internal stair to one side. A rear lightwell creates a liveable basement. Large glazed windows to the ground floor enliven a once forgotten backstreet. The layout has been inverted, with bedrooms to the lower levels where a more closed relationship to the street does not affect internal amenity. The living spaces are moved to the upper floors, where larger windows can give lightand views out without compromising privacy.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The living spaces are articulated as a metal clad, sculptural form that has been folded out of the front elevation to create windows and views to the south, maintaining privacy across the street. An angled roof creates north facing rooflights to the second floor. The faceted form of the roof is derived from a rights to light analysis of neighbouring residences.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The lower commercial levels are conceived as raw, rectilinear and solid forms rising from the basement formed in visual concrete, to create pedestals to the more delicate residential spaces above. These commercial units are stripped back to bare essentials, their space articulated by exposed structure and raw ply stairs.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The basement buttresses are left exposed, with the original Victorian brick retaining walls giving a legible and in places archaeological character to the external lightwells and courtyards. The more dynamic residential forms above are built from a lightweight timer stud and glulam frame. This allowed the contractor to adjust these complex forms on site, and for cantilevers to be built without steel, avoiding thermal bridging. The timber frame is wrapped in prepatinated zinc in six different colours with varying orientation, to articulate the different ownerships of the scheme.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The large glazed windows to the rear elevation have a metal solar mesh interlayer. This has been mounted upside down, so that the mesh reduces visibility looking down to preserve privacy to neighbour’s gardens while allowing an internal view of the sky. We wanted to create a benchmark sustainable building, focussing on fabric energy efficiency. The building is highly insulated and very airtight, meaning minimal energy is required to regulate the temperature of the development.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The residential units are built and certified to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. This accreditation focuses on a broad spectrum of requirements which make both the construction process, and the development itself, sustainable. This was a considerable challenge as the tight urban site precludes many typical Code solutions, necessitating a highly sustainable development. The building meets Lifetime Homes standards, Secure by Design standards, and implements many suitable sustainable technologies.  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design The project has been awarded an RIBA London Award. The RIBA London jurors commented “The scheme has a pleasing economy of scale. The façades are strong additions but do not dominate. The street feels friendly and the buildings approachable; the design’s undeniable success lies in its creative combination of modernity and warmth.”  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design  Image Courtesy © Edgley Design
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Categories: Commercial Area, Flats, Mixed use |
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