Omnium, Hackney

The existing Colville Estate, located in Hackney, was subject to a comprehensive regeneration master plan. The approved masterplan divided the site into phased ‘Development Zones’. We were successful in securing Phase 2A (Development Zone C1), which included a block of 30 social rented homes and 129 m2 commercial units at ground floor located on the north west corner of the Estate and Phase 2B (Development Zone F) which included a block of 40 social rented homes, 6 shared ownership homes and 40 private sale homes with 1390 m2 of car parking at ground floor level.

The two phases of this major estate regeneration in Hackney provided a total of 116 mixed tenure homes, retail space, community centre and energy centre, all of which were contained within three buildings. The housing provided a mix of one to four bedroom homes available for social rent, intermediate rent and market sale.

The design was led by active community engagement, working closely with estate residents throughout all design stages to shape proposals. Residents worked closely with our wider design team that included Architects Karausevic Carson and Employers Agent calfordseaden to explore ways of integrating areas for community growing within the public realm. The use of high-quality paving materials, tree planting based on identified character areas and careful detailing of the amenity spaces emphasises open spaces throughout the development.

The project includes a range of measures to improve energy efficiency including: a range of passive measures including use of thermal mass, facade shading features and high-performance glass, 4,370 m2 of roof mounted photovoltaic panels, green and brown roofs (accounting for 50% of total roof area), the incorporation of sustainable urban drainage measures, and measures to reduce water consumption to a maximum of 105 litres per person per day.

We delivered extensive social value on this project and measured this using the Social Value Portal. The overall social Return on Investment we delivered back into the local Hackney community was value at £1,346,382.

The success of this project has resulted in several awards including: RIBA London Award for Architectural excellence, TPAS Team of the Year award, Gold and Silver CCS Awards and a London planning Award for Best Borough Led Project.