Located in the Mayor of London’s Old Oak & Park Royal Opportunity Area, this new building will reach 24 storeys and deliver improved pedestrian access to North Acton station. Its bedrooms are arranged in a mixture of clusters of bedrooms and studio rooms. Student facilities such as gym, common room and games area are provided. Landscaped roof terraces will allow students to relax and enjoy their temporary home. Retail space is provided at ground level adjacent to the London underground station entrance.
Through the scheme’s design, we contribute to the emerging context of the wider Opportunity Area, which will see thousands of new homes and jobs created over the next 30 years, and also to the site’s immediate surroundings. With its form broken into three elements, two extruded forms are linked together by a slender block. The development will rise in scale from west to east, creating a marker for the Opportunity Area when viewed from a number of key approach routes.
To complement and reinforce the scheme’s massing and form, three materials are used individually on each of the three blocks. The materials are chosen to compliment one another and to provide a functionally robust façade. The lower block’s façade is of natural terracotta tile, with a cruciform pattern applied expressing the internal functionality. The linking element’s facade is made up of a bright reflective metal panel, while the taller element’s façade uses a glass rainscreen system.
Based around dark blue grey to light blue white colours the palette compliments its surroundings and acts as a standalone marker for the junction of Victoria Road and Wales Farm Road.