Urban housing development of the year

Winner

“An excellent response to the constraints of the site,” was how the judges summed up Berkeley Homes’ Brewery Square scheme in Clerkenwell, north London. The design by Hamilton Associates makes the most of the site’s industrial heritage and historic surroundings, using sharp angles, natural materials and blue engineering brick. Original retained cobblestones sit alongside purple aluminium cladding. Recognised with a CABE Building for Life Gold Standard for its design quality, the scheme also achieved solid sales performance. It was praised also by our judges for its permeability and for its combination of four blocks of private-sale apartments, three blocks of affordable homes and three mews houses.

Finalists

Hutchison Whampoa’s Albion Riverside apartment scheme, beside the Thames in Battersea, is an exciting and iconic building with the highest possible architectural pedigree in its Foster and Partners design. Its only low note, the judges found, was that affordable housing for the Peabody Trust is provided in a separate building away from the river at the rear of the site.

Capital West

Barratt’s Capital West in Brentford, west London, is a prime example of the new breed of urban regeneration schemes that are becoming bread and butter to the company. Designed by Assael Architecture, the scheme comprises a series of terracotta and render-faced buildings rising to 12 storeys high which house private and affordable apartments and a hotel.

The Edge@Robinsons

Country & Metropolitan transformed The Robinsons depository building in a designated regeneration area in Moseley, Birmingham, into trendy apartments that were marketed at affordable prices.

In all 46 apartments were created in the building and 20% of homes sold within a week of the launch. Design and build was by Pettifer Construction.

One SE8

A former Thames Water site in Deptford, south London, is being reinvented as a community of 750 apartments with their own car-hire club, gym and cafe. This is St James Homes’ One SE8, designed by RMA Architects. Car parking provision on the scheme was reduced to 0.5 spaces per apartment and much of the saved land has been used for landscaping and amenity space.

Plot Q, Portishead Quays

The 22 apartments in this Persimmon scheme, near Bristol, have a distinctly modern European styling. Architect Scott Brownrigg’s design balances high specification with generous room sizes. The scheme is built on a brownfield site at the edge of Portishead town centre and almost all units were sold before completion.

Quayside House

This Network Housing Group project in north Kensington, London, combines 100 new homes for rent and shared ownership with offices and studios aimed at the creative industries in a single landmark building. The waterside development was designed by APT Partnership and built by Wates under a PPC 2000 contract. Together the team helped to value engineer the project to a £25m budget and improve buildability. The shared ownership homes sold out in a single open day.