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Bridge House

A view of the west facade from the Davey Square. This was designed to have a civic quality with red precast concrete circular column at the centre of each balcony. Image by Forbes Massie.
Project: Bridge House

Project facts

Client: CJ O’Shea
Date: Planning submitted June 2021
Location: Hackney Wick, London
Size: 6250m²

Project description

We won this project in an invited competition – the LLDC has a policy of encouraging design competitions for complex sites and the brief called for;

‘A practice who can act as design leaders for this special but complex project and who really understand the client’s desire for excellence. A practice who understand buildability and can generate new, yet achievable ideas that will set pioneering standards for this type of development for years to come.’

We cycle past the site a lot – an old waste management plant facing the canal towpath in Hackney Wick. The plot is a fragment of the Wickside masterplan and is called ‘Bridge House’ – It abuts a new pedestrian bridge that will cross the Hertford Union Canal, connecting the site to Fish Island Village to the south. The development is part of the 2012 London Olympic Games legacy.

Our design creates 40 new apartments that all have access to a shared rooftop garden. All apartments are dual-aspect, with large balconies overlooking the canal and new public square. There is a gallery, workshop and community space on the ground and lower ground floors.

The building is surrounded on all sides by a new public realm, designed in collaboration with Adams & Sutherland Architects. There is a colonnade on two sides, one that faces the canal towpath and one the new town-square. The facade is made from concrete elements, setting itself apart from the brick buildings that surround it.

Our client CJ O’Shea said:‘In working with Studioshaw they have shown great enthusiasm and ideas and this has really helped to push the building development to a successful conclusion. If asked were they the right Architect for the project the answer would be a resounding yes’.

Project images

West elevation colonnade and residential facade.
South elevation on the canal side showing the double-height colonnade.
A typical residential floor plan. All dwellings have a dual aspect and at least one generous inset balcony.
A view looking south towards Fish island village. The commercial spaces are set behind a colonnade and clad in brick. Image by Forbes Massie.
Model showing canal side and west elevation corner
The south facade sits on the Hertford Union Canal. Here the colonnade is double height with cafe units opening onto the towpath. The inset balconies above are part solid, part metal mesh and have built in planters.
The west elevation. The building straddles complex levels - the public square, the bridge approach and the canal towpath.
Diagram showing the grid of the west facade. The base is 10 equal bays which rise with the bridge approach level. The upper grid expresses the building as three united blocks.
The colonnade is an important social space between the building and the public realm, where people can meet or shelter from the rain or sun. Image by Forbes Massie.
Bay study showing deep inset balconies on west elevation.
Bay study showing ground floor colonnade and commercial unit entrances.
A view through the building showing the workspaces with apartments above. All residents have access to a shared rooftop garden.
Bay study showing west facade facing the square.
Bay study showing west facade facing the square.