London: 251 new homes for Arada start on site above Swiss Cottage Tube Station
100 Avenue Road has started on site, delivering 251 new homes above Swiss Cottage Tube Station, with 40% affordable housing, alongside new commercial space. Rising to 25 storeys, our design increases the previously consented 184 homes, with enhanced sustainability, landscaping and public realm. The site sits directly above Swiss Cottage Underground Station.
One of the defining design challenges has been achieving more from an established planning envelope. Our proposals increase the number of homes from the previously consented 184 to 251, including significantly more affordable homes all for social rent, while working broadly within the consented massing.
The proposals also work with the basement structure and ground-floor podium already constructed on site. Retaining and working with this existing structure brings embodied-carbon benefits while informing the design of the buildings above.
Materiality has been carefully considered in response to the surrounding neighbourhood. High-quality handmade light-red and light-grey brickwork creates variation and depth across the façades, while curved corners and balconies complement the adjacent Art Deco architecture and Swiss Cottage Library.
Sustainability has also been significantly enhanced, with energy performance improved to meet current best practice. The scheme delivers substantial public realm and landscaping enhancements, including multifunctional green spaces and dedicated play areas.
Together, these interventions demonstrate how an existing permission can be intelligently reconsidered to deliver significantly more housing, including affordable homes, while improving architectural quality, environmental performance and the wider public realm. Completion is scheduled for 2028.
“100 Avenue Road demonstrates how we can unlock greater value from an already complex urban site. The ambition has been to deliver significantly more homes, including much-needed affordable housing, while improving environmental performance and creating benefits that extend beyond the development itself. As the project starts on site, it’s exciting to see that work translating into a significant new piece of Swiss Cottage.”
— David Roberts, Director
