Plashet Road

Entry type:

Number/street name:

Plashet Road

Address line 2: Plaistow

City:

London

Postcode:

E13 0QB

Architect:

Architect contact number:

02077291672

Developer:

LB Newham.

Contractor:

Planning Authority:

London Borough of Newham

Planning Reference:

18/03413/FUL

Date of Completion:

07/2021

View of the proposal from the north-east on Plashet Road

Schedule of Accommodation:

19 x 1 bed flats; 16 x 2 bed flats; 20 x 3 bed flats

Tenure Mix:

49% social rent, 51% affordable home ownership

Total number of homes:

Site size (hectares):

0.33

Net Density (homes per hectare):

167

Size of principal unit (sqm):

121

Smallest Unit (sqm):

Largest unit (sqm):

121

No of parking spaces:

Location plan

Description of the design:

Plashet Road is a mixed-use development delivered for Newham Council. It is located on the site of a former

Victorian school building and provides a 900 square metre community centre, a 350 square metre children’s nursery

and 55 affordable homes. The site is unique in being bounded on all sides by high quality mature trees, which

contribute positively to the character of the wider area and have all been retained as part of the development. The

project builds on the qualities of the site, with the building arranged in response to the trees, creating a series of

crescent façades facing the street. A communal courtyard garden surrounded on all sides by a colonnaded gallery

access deck defines the building’s interior and provides access to the apartments. The proposals have been laid out

to deliver 100% dual aspect apartments, with a facade design of generous openings that bring good levels of natural

light and ventilation into the interiors of all homes. Each unit benefits from either a roof terrace amenity space or

loggia balcony. This ensures that the amenity space is easily connected to the internal living areas and feels like a

room in itself. A material language shared with the terraced houses adjacent to the site, give the building familiarity

with its surroundings and give the building a sense of permanence, similar to the robust Victorian public buildings of

the area.

View of colonnaded internal courtyard

Planning History:

The site does not form part of a conservation area, and was previously occupied by nineteenth-century school

buildings, which had been re-purposed as a community centre. Prior approval for the demolition of these buildings

was granted prior to STA’s involvement with the project. Support for the application was dependent upon the

re-provision of a community centre on the site. Stephen Taylor Architects led a comprehensive pre-application

consultation process with the local authority planning department, including very well received presentations to the

Design Review Panel and Members Forum. Full planning permission was granted in December 2018.

Choose a few key elements you want to promote:

Retention of the existing mature trees around the perimeter of the site was a fundamental part of the brief. A rigorous

feasibility study demonstrated that the greatest quantum of development was achieved by organising the building

around a central courtyard. The distinctive scalloped plan form allowed the building to push out towards the edge of

the site whilst negotiating the tree root protection zones. For reasons of economy, the radius of each scallop is

sufficient to allow the external wall of the building to be constructed from standard orthogonal components (bricks,

lintels, cills, windows, etc.) both internally and externally.

Collonade section

View into small courtyard Model image of the curved facade where it meets the existing terrace

Typical upper floor plan View looking south from the north-east corner

SCHEME TAGS

Type Cost/ownership Construction/Design Outdoor areas

- Multi-Aspect Apartments - Affordable - Brickwork - Private Terraces

- Innovative House Types - Council - Contemporary Design - Roof Gardens

- Mansion Block - Shared Ownership - Traditional - Roof Terrace

- Mixed Use - Outside Terrace

Size Sustainability - Biodiversity

- High density Planning - Garden

- Compact - Large New Settlements

- Urban Infill Surrounding Area

- Urban Regeneration - Healthy Streets

- Landscape

- Community Buildings

- Play Spaces

- Public open space

Specialised

- Community