Aylesbury Estate in South London is one of the largest public housing estates in Europe, with over 2700 homes. Long known for high levels of crime and social disadvantage, the estate has recently been subject of a phased regeneration programme led by the London Borough of Southwark.
The Harvard Gardens project is for Site 7 in the north-east corner of the estate.
The design challenge was to maintain the density of this inner city neighbourhood while creating comfortable, beautiful homes and achieving a high quality of urban space. A major theme throughout the project was to address some of the key urban design problems from the original 60s design; namely difficult front-to-back relationships, undefined open space and a lack of human scale.
The proposals knit the estate back into the physical fabric of the area by reinstating the traditional street layout and creating two new urban blocks separated by a mews street. The homes on the ground floor have private back gardens which lead out into communal courtyards and play spaces at the centre of the blocks. Apartments and terraces of houses are arranged around these two urban quarters, with a continuous brick ground storey linked to garden walls and broken only by a series of well designed entrances, which offer views into the central gardens and secure access to residents. A ten-storey block and pocket park marks the corner of Thurlow Street and East Street.
Apartments are arranged around small cores, and 95% of homes are dual aspect. The buildings are clad in elegant, high quality brick with balconies providing a colourful character accent. This robust material palette takes inspiration from the historical context and is chosen to age gracefully.
