DMA

David Miller Architects (DMA) has been working on a cluster of three complex delivery projects for Westminster City Council and it’s exciting to see another of them, Ashbridge Street in the Lisson Grove Conservation Area, now complete.

Part of the wider Church Street Masterplan, Ashbridge Street provides 26 new homes for social rent in a 5-storey block. The building features traditional brickwork, generous private balconies for every flat, a green roof and is surrounded by an L-shaped, communal courtyard garden that is to be shared with neighbouring council homes, providing areas for safe play, to relax and meet.

Both Ashbridge Street, and a second development of two large, family homes around the corner completed earlier this year, provide 100% affordable homes. Proceeds from a third development of 49 homes for private sale at nearby Cosway Street are to be invested in more housing for social rent throughout the borough. Together, these schemes create 77 new homes for Westminster.

Working on the three projects simultaneously post-planning, DMA re-worked the schemes for buildability as well as adapting them to meet the new Building Safety requirements and, in the case of Ashbridge, coordinating around an existing infrastructure asset. The three projects all required new planning applications, for which we gained first time approval. Because of this, we were able to retrospectively adapt the design at Ashbridge Street to include air source heat pumps, making the development more environmentally sustainable.

Westminster Church Street Ward Councillor,  Matt Noble, said,

“The Ashbridge Street social homes scheme demonstrates our commitment to maximising the number of truly affordable, high-quality social rent homes.

“The one to three bedroom homes here will provide high quality, energy efficient modern homes that will suit the needs of our residents to include improved space standards, generous storage and a newly introduced green courtyard. There are also fully wheelchair compliant homes, electric car spaces and a communal air source heat pump, providing a sustainable way to provide heat and hot water to homes.”

You can see more about the development here.

Project Team
Client: Westminster City Council
Contractor: Osborne
Concept Architect: ECD Architects
Structural Engineer: Robert Bird Group
M&E: CBG Consulting
Landscaping Architects: Outerspace

Photography: Agnese Sanvito