KPF – Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates completed the ‘One Crown Place, London’ project in the early November 2021. The mixed-use building for MTD Group comprises of two residential towers – 29 and 33 floors above a six floor office and retail podium. The mixed-use development is a microcosm of how a city block evolves over time.
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Designed by KPF, the building is part of the wider ‘One Crown Place’ development, which revives an urban block on the edge of the London City with a range of uses and a complex mix of old and new.
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The development has been designed to be specifically ‘of Hackney’ with a distinctive character and not as an extension of the city. It is located in a conservation area, on the boundary of Hackney and the City of London.
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KPF researched the materials, scale and proportion of surrounding warehouses to inform composition and detail of the project.
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Victorian façade on Earl Street is retained by incorporating terracotta on the perimeter of the new building, informed by the masonry and glazed brick buildings that characterize the area.
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The residential towers work on multiple scales. KPF did an intensive research to study the triangular massing with its urban analysis scripts for this project.
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The study helped KPF to minimize the local impact, thereby creating interesting residential units with breathtaking optimized views.
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At the street level, the textured terracotta façade arise the full height of the building. Bringing 24/7 activities to the site, the wider development revives an urban block.
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Magnificent artwork by Stig Evans adorns the inner façades, while addressing the wider cityscape.
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Inspired by Constable’s cloud paintings, screen-printed abstracted colours from local sky conditions match and contrast with the sky as the day passes. It creates a magical kinetic experience.
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One Crown Place is truly a mixed-use building and a common energy centre to share loads between the uses. The six storeys’ office podium provides open and flexible office floors, like a modern warehouse, uninterrupted by columns from the residential towers above.
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A two-storey truss enables to transfer the structural load of the residential towers to the edges of the building. Residential amenities and a residents’ terrace are located on the 7th floor, where the exposed truss becomes a striking feature.
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Located in a restored Georgian terrace, a 1970’s office building and the new office podium with residential towers above, there’s a complex mix of high-specification office space, affordable workplaces, hotel, residential and retail.
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The varied frontages and massing form multiple addresses with front doors on all sides of the block and an intimate central courtyard. The site was semi-derelict for many years.
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KPF’s design intent was to imagine the development as a microcosm of what might have happened to a city block over time. A mix of old and new is both a unified architectural expression and a collection of individual elements with their own sense of identity – articulated as part of a dynamic and responsive composition.
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To preserve the cultural memory of the place, the unlisted but of a local value, the key to the scheme was to retain a derelict Georgian terrace on the Sun Street. Expected to open in the early 2022, this has been restored and refurbished. It will become a boutique hotel, a 114-cover destination restaurant and a private members’ club.
Image Courtesy: KPF – Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates