It proposes 13 dual-aspect apartments in a single building intended for a mixture of ages, featuring a series of tiered south-facing garden terraces cascading to an open space below.
The housing block would be built on a 1,009m² ‘overlooked plot’ on the north-western corner of a roundabout, opposite Preston Road Sports Ground in Pellatt Road, Wembley.
The land sits between existing 1960s and 1990s housing and some light industrial buildings in the London borough of Brent. It previously formed part of a national housebuilder’s portfolio until it was bought by Caswell&Dainow.
The 13 homes would be a mixture of one, two and three-bed apartments, totalling 1,213m² GIA, with 339m² of amenity space including 58m² of shared external space.
Source:Haze Viz/GPAD
GPAD’s Pellatt Road proposal for Wembley – visual
GPAD said it had designed the proposal’s sculpted form in homage to a sports pavilion which once stood on the site.
The design also draws inspiration from Wembley’s ‘exemplar’ modernist buildings and ‘original Metroland ethos’, according to the practice.
GPAD said the idea of homes set amid green space is rooted in the ethos of Metroland, the nickname for the suburban areas built to the north-west of London in the days of the early 20th century Metropolitan Railway.
The practice said the homes would be ‘super-insulated’ and feature ‘enduring materials’ and on-site renewables to make them sustainable and cheap to run.
Materially, a soft white brick external façade has been selected for durability, with brickwork patterning at the ground and top floors.
Client’s view
This overlooked plot was part of the extensive portfolio of a national housebuilder, which Caswell&Dainow was asked to analyse. After reviewing a number of opportunities to find untapped potential, we purchased the Pellatt Road site in Wembley having faith that great design could breathe new life into what was an unassuming grassy edge to an existing housing development.
Set next to open green space, the building is conceived as a series of terraces that encourage greenery up and through the architecture and give the sensation of living in parkland. Working with GPAD, these oversized terraces are a bold contemporary addition to the neighbouring 1990s and 1960s housing.
With biodiversity and urban greening key aesthetic drivers, Match Landscape was engaged early in the project development. With a varied palette of deciduous, evergreen, and perennial planting, the terraces offer a year-round habitat that changes with the seasons. The scheme will also reinstate a lost native hedgerow, further supporting local biodiversity.
Charlie Caswell and Adam Dainow
Source:GPAD
GPAD’s Pellatt Road proposal for Wembley – model
PROJECT DATA
Location Pellatt Road, Wembley
Local authority London Borough of Brent
Type of project Housing
Client Caswell&Dainow
Architect GPAD
Landscape architect Match Landscape Architects
Planning consultant MJP Planning
Structural engineer
Fire strategy MU Studio
Daylight/sunlight t16 Design
Transport and logistics YES Engineering
Energy and sustainability PES
Ecology Green Shoots
Arboriculture Arborclimb
Public consultation Thorncliffe
Viability Arborclimb
Visuals Haze Viz
