Generously proportioned, well-lit apartments
Amin Taha + Groupwork for Cobstar
Contract value: £1.27m
GIA: 635m²
Characterful housing in a disjointed urban street: the adjacency to a primary school is a fitting location for a thing built with fairy-tale materials of brick, wood and straw. Inside, the building houses a series of generously proportioned, well-lit apartments; each with a wicker basket balcony that sticks out far and proud, like a salute to passers-by.
The staggered hit-and-miss brick skin of the facade makes a larger-than-usual pattern, which fits the tallness of the overall building. Wrapping the skin up and over the roof emphasizes the simplicity of the building’s form.
Inside, the feeling is of a single house split into many homes; a refreshing change from the cheap finishes and convoluted corridors of many apartment blocks.
Apartments are all double aspect with well-proportioned rooms. Space is used wisely and left over pieces of it is exploited; for example a strip of workspace overlooks the living room in the top maisonette, making a small band of space a delight to inhabit.
See the other winners of the RIBA Regional Awards 2017 - London
See the other winners of the RIBA Regional Awards 2017 - London/Residential