Topping out at the York Way Estate

Our team attend the inaugural topping out ceremony at York Way Estate in the London Borough of Islington.

York Way is about creating new homes within the York Way estate with sensitive new additional blocks knitted into the existing housing estate built in 1969.

We worked closely with the London Borough of Islington Housing Team throughout the planning and design process to ensure a consistent vision for the provision of new homes and suitability of the allocated 50% of social homes that are built for residents on their housing waiting list for the York Way Estate. A major part of this comprehensive estate wide regeneration process was to work together with Erect Architecture to understand how to approach and enable the best and biodiverse landscape improvements, design new play spaces and verdant communal amenity for new and existing residents.

Our four new blocks provide a  rigorous order and articulated brick façades provide a high quality and durable architecture with simple, crisp detailing ensuring the buildings will mature gracefully, become richer and look better with time.

 They are positioned to maintain the openness of the site and to respect the existing residents’ access to daylight and long views. Three ‘Villa’ buildings are set within the greens along York Way. A new terrace building consolidates the larger family homes as stacked maisonettes creating a protected courtyard with door-step play.

 ‘We are interested in the expression of residential architecture built in the same period of the estate. The estate is often seen as a backdrop to the new buildings. It is important to strike a balance when introducing a new family of buildings which identify as part of the collective but allow the existing buildings to be understood as the original.’ Colin Wharry, Associate, Maccreanor Lavington.