In 2019 we were commissioned to create an Urban Design Framework (UDF) to guide substantial and long-term improvements for the Broadwater Farm Estate in Haringey, North London. Originally built in the late 1960s, Broadwater has undergone numerous refurbishments and alterations over the past five decades which together with the estate’s original design have created an urban environment which is not serving the present community well.
Working with the local community, our work seeks to establish a holistic design for the physical repair of the estate to address the evidenced construction problems with existing buildings, and the inactive, vehicle-heavy public realm with poor pedestrian links to civic amenities. Driving these changes are a series of core principles that have been agreed-upon through close community discussion; Movement, Public realm, Ground Floor Activity, Character, Housing, Legacy and Sustainability which will kick-start estate improvements and serve as a catalyst for future change.
Alongside establishing these broad principles for neighbourhood change, our more localised estate designs have focused on the heart of the estate and the redevelopment of the Tangmere and Northolt sites. In our redesigns, we have challenged the estate’s car-dominated street hierarchy, with a collection of buildings configured to create landscaped courtyards and civic spaces which all residents can use. To unite the neighbourhood, a diagonal pedestrian link which partly follows the culverted River Moselle beneath the site is planned through the estate, which will also forge a better relationship with Lordship Recreation Ground to the west.
Responding to the original design’s placement of parking at street level, with homes raised at first floor, a major part of our work has been to create a more active relationship with ground floor, and make the public realm feel safer and more enjoyable to inhabit. With this in mind, shops and services are planned at key moments within a 15 minute walk of all homes.
To achieve an estate renewal strategy that is carbon conscious and cost-effective, our designs include the substantial retrofit of original estate buildings. With a series scenarios proposed, ranging from essential works to more in-depth interventions that encompass landscaping and architectural character, these retrofit strategies will be piloted across two sites, Martlesham and Rochford to test ideas and establish a set of guide guidelines for wider housing refurbishment.
Extending beyond the built environment, our work has also focused on creating opportunities for residents, and since the beginning of the project, young estate residents have collaborated as creative freelancers with Beyond the Box Consultancy to co-design engagement events. From this process the ‘Lost Blocks Collective’ was born, a group who are now hosting a podcast series to share their personal stories with a mission to create a new and more diverse narrative for Broadwater Farm.