Our fifth collaboration with Pocket Living is a skilful piece of urban improvement, injecting new homes and jobs into a constrained site surrounded by roads and rail tracks.
As with our previous work with Pocket Living, Bollo Lane shows how volumetric techniques can unlock inaccessible plots of land to deliver much-needed homes for first-time buyers.
The site was entirely surrounded – by rail lines on three sides and a busy TfL Red Route to the east. But by moving the vast majority of construction off site, Tide has delivered a landmark building that steps up from a three-storey dark-brick base to an eight-storey shoulder block and a 14-storey white terracotta-clad tower.
The building contains 84 discounted “pocket” homes and 28 private-sale apartments. The homes all have floor-to-ceiling windows, and some feature terraces or balconies. The three-storey base houses two residents’ lounges, with communal seating, games and work areas, as well as 2,000m2 of flexible Grade A office space.
The triple-height glazed entrance activates Bollo Lane, repairing the broken urban grain and bringing vibrancy back to the street. Above, the stepped design creates space for two expansive roof terraces with high-quality landscaping and seating.
The pocket homes were sold to first-time buyers at a 20% discount below market rate. It was therefore vital that they be constructed quickly and on budget. The inherent speed of the volumetric approach saved money and brought in sales revenue much earlier.
