Mikhail Riches won 2 design competitions to deliver housing on 3 sites as part of Hackney Council’s Housing Supply Programme. At Buckland Street, we embraced the opportunity to make fantastic homes that make a positive contribution to the neighbourhood. 54 homes and a ground floor commercial unit are contained within 3 villas, whose scalloped facade conserves existing pollarded plane trees and creates generous balconies overlooking a shared garden and play space. The scheme seeks to be simple, elegant and neighbourly, providing 62% affordable homes. Buckland Street runs east-to-west through the St. John and Cranston estates in Hoxton with a central kink; a historical fragment from the former linear terraced streets. The area is characterised by amorphous planning and a lack of legibility. The buildings are a mix of horizontal slab blocks and vertical towers. There are lots of well maintained green spaces but these are fenced off due to a lack of privacy for ground floor flats.

The site is in a pivotal location and provides the opportunity to reinforce Buckland Street’s edge, as well as intensifying the existing parade of shops and community centre. Key design moves will also facilitate greater permeability for pedestrians and provide more direct routes to nearby assets; Shoreditch, the church and the park. All flats face South and receive lots of sunlight, as well as making the most of southerly views toward the church spire. Most flats have a large south-facing balcony which are stacked to improve buildability. Balconies are indented and curved to improve privacy, sunlight penetration and mitigate against overlooking.