College Road, London Borough of Croydon

Project summary

Sector

Co-Living, Residential

Developer

Tide

Contractor

Tide

Volumetric manufacturer

Vision Volumetric

Key partners

Co-living: Outpost Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Blackstone

Residential: Tide

Architect

HTA Design

Location

London Borough of Croydon

Programme

28 months

Status

Complete

Homes

817 co-living homes and 120 affordable homes

Site size

2,000m²

Storeys

50 and 35 storeys

Height

163m

Volumetric units

1,725

EPC

B

BREEAM

Excellent

Back to all projects

College Road

For the second time, we’ve delivered the world’s tallest volumetric tower in the heart of Croydon – in a scheme that brings nearly 1,000 homes to the south London borough.

College Road is a historic milestone: for Croydon, for volumetric construction, and for the way that we live in cities. The scheme comprises two interconnected buildings: a 35-storey tower with 120 much-needed affordable homes, and a 50-storey tower with 817 co-living homes and seven dedicated floors of innovative and varied amenity spaces.

Project summary

Connecting Croydon

College Road realises Croydon’s vision for more vibrant, active, pedestrian friendly spaces. The development includes a new public colonnade, forming a natural extension to the public realm and winter garden at Ten Degrees. Lined with trees and shrubs, the colonnade wraps around the building, linking into a wider network of public routes between East Croydon Station and the cultural quarter.

It also brings a major piece of public art to the community. The glittering 7m-high arcade has been designed by artist Adam Nathaniel Furman, and is formed entirely out of large, three-dimensional porcelain tiles.

Innovation inbuilt

At College Road, Tide has beaten its own record, taking volumetric construction to new heights and delivering nearly 1,000 homes in less than three years.

163 m

– the tallest volumetric tower in Europe

1,725

units installed in 40 weeks

28 month

total construction programme

Co-Living at College Road

At 163m, the co-living tower is the tallest volumetric building in the world, overtaking its neighbour Ten Degrees. It is also in the vanguard of 21^st-century community creation, as possibly the largest co-living development in the world. Its mix of studios and one-bedroom apartments has been carefully designed to make sure each home offers a place of retreat and privacy.

But the really radical aspect of the design is the communal space – which includes some of the most impressive shared amenities ever gathered under one roof. These include a bespoke gym, podcast studio, private dining rooms, professional chefs’ kitchens, library, cinema, poker room, darts alley and pool room.

A dedicated event space offers a venue for comedy nights and live music, while the large sky garden is divided into areas for socialising and events on the north side, and quieter spaces with lush landscaping for relaxation to the south.

Flexibility inbuilt

The co-living tower at College Road comprises a variety of private flats and highly bespoke communal spaces.

24 m²

average unit size

2,800 m²

curated amenity space

30

flexibly designed shared spaces across seven dedicated floors

The one-minute community

A successful co-living community depends on easy access to all communal facilities. At College Road, Tide has modelled the journeys to catering facilities near the ground and top levels of the towers, calculating that the average travel time for residents is about one minute.

This is a landmark scheme, not just for Croydon, but globally. To be involved with a project such as this so early in our journey is extremely exciting. The way we are living and working in and around big cities has changed and our enabled residential model is designed to create a place to live that empowers residents to embrace this.

Along with our partners at Oaktree and Tide, we are able to contribute to the growing neighbourhood and help solve the London housing crisis.

Troy Tomasik

Chief Executive, Outpost Management

Affordable homes at College Road

The 35-storey tower contains 120 spacious one- to three-bedroom apartments, ranging from 51-85m². All of the units are being operated at discount market rent. The homes boast beautiful views and benefit from high-quality finishes, as well as the Vision Volumetric system’s high levels of acoustic insulation, soundproofing them from the busy urban environment.

Volumetric programme benefits

By building using the volumetric system, the development programme can be drastically reduced. Although volumetric units account for most of the total building area, they can be installed much more efficiently as per the diagram below:

College Road from above

Related projects