Wick Lane: an integrated new development where rooflines salute the past

Wick Lane is a pioneering co-location project that integrates industrial and residential spaces in Hackney Wick. Sited between a conservation area and strategic industrial land (SIL), it balances community needs with urban development. 

Industrial units act as buffers, protecting residential quality while unlocking growth opportunities. Shared courtyards and lanes encourage social interaction, and ensure separation between work and living space.

The development consists of six distinct buildings. Each reflects Hackney Wick’s industrial heritage through varied architectural styles, from a red brick mill-style, a 1960s-esque framed facade, to contemporary corrugated metal and standing seam finishes. 

This carefully curated material palette reinforces local identity and helps integrate suitable workspaces for local businesses. By blending industrial vibrancy with residential liveability, Wick Lane aims to create a varied community of people working and living in close proximity.

Historical reference and roof shape

Of the four distinct roof types, three are tonally matched to the facade materials, ensuring a cohesive visual language. The scheme’s character is largely shaped by varied roof forms, drawing inspiration from vernacular housing typologies and industrial north-light sawtooth roofs – references that are embedded in the local context. 

This dual influence introduces an element of intrigue, subtly blurring the distinction between residential and workplace areas. The approach to the roofscape helps achieve balance, allowing for a coherent and harmonious intensification of mixed-use functions.

The geometry and slope of the asymmetrical roof form take reference from a nearby derelict gable wall aligning with a new pedestrian route through the site. This distinctive shape creates vaulted double-height ceilings in many upper-level homes, including four distinctive ‘townhouses’ positioned above a double-height industrial workspace, and accessed via an elevated podium garden.

Material choice 

Material selection was rooted both in context and technical suitability as a roofing and facade system. This creates a unified expression, and a relationship between roof and wall.

Four roof types comprise pitched sinusoidal and pitched standing-seam cladding, pitched clay roof tiles and a flat green roof. While pitched roofs share a visually cohesive aesthetic, technical construction varies. All use warm roof construction, with inclined forms supported by primary steels. 

The clad roofs feature a build-up of metal profile sheets, rigid insulation, and a helping-hand brackets system to secure the sheeting. The clay tile roof also uses a steel frame, but the backing structure is formed using traditional timber battens, ensuring the project utilises existing supply chain capabilities and supports local tradespeople.

The concrete frame’s flat roof is of conventional construction. The interplay of flat and pitched roofs was key in a form-making of variety and architectural richness. 

Refinement of details

A key design feature common to all the buildings is integration of hidden gutters, discreetly sited behind parapets with concealed hoppers and recessed downpipes. This detailing enhances the overall aesthetic, contributing to a refined and seamless appearance. By colour-matching gutters, copings and flashings, visual clutter is minimised,so buildings read as an architectural collage when viewed together.

The selected materials, typically used in industrial construction, tend to prioritise speed and efficiency. Application here to residential buildings required heightened levels of precision in detailing and setting out, exceeding sub-contractors' expectations, particularly in the case of sinusoidal cladding.

Sheet materials’ every seam and curve was meticulously aligned with window pods and building corners, eliminating need for oversized flashings or cover trims. These details reinforce the project's identity, dissolving the perceived boundaries between industrial and residential spaces.

In numbers 

GIA 17,241m²
Commercial space 2,250m² 
Storeys 7
Homes 175
Construction period 4 years 3 months