Description of the Project

The site is prominently located at the junction of Westbourne Grove and Pembridge Villas, on the borders of Notting Hill and Bayswater. Triangular in form, the site dominates a major road junction. It is within a retail area that extends from Queensway to Portobello Road.

This project – a feasibility study instructed by the owner of the site – comprises the demolition of an existing five-storey mixed-use office and residential building, and its replacement by a six-storey mixed-use retail and residential building comprising a total of 2,880 sq m.

The design seeks to maximise the prominence and accessibility of the site by providing retail on the ground floor, extending into the basement and up to the second floor, with residential on the top three floors. The ground floor retail use opens up onto the surrounding pavements, and links with a new public space that embraces the corner and the two adjacent streets. This space is protected from traffic by a curving wall of varying height. In this way, Internal and external public space combine to enhance this prominent corner.

The form of the building exploits its position: the corner itself is a glazed shaft containing the glass lifts that serve the retail floors. These lifts provide a rising view east right down Westbourne Grove and will offer one of the best rides in west London.

The two facades facing Westbourne Grove and Pembridge Villas serving the retail areas above ground are developed three-dimensionally to provide views into each street, but also to provide views at right angles to the facades, looking east along Westbourne Grove, from all areas of the upper retail floors. This creates a ‘third façade’ to the building when viewed from the intersection.

The residential floors at the top of the building have a double depth façade: the outer layer of metal mesh wraps the inner layer of glazing, maintaining a maximum sense of light within the apartments, benefiting from the elevation of these floors, whilst at the same time restricting the views in. A series of horizontal slots in the mesh provide views out and contain shallow balconies to the main rooms. There is a corner roof terrace to the top apartment, to complete the trilogy of views within the building that look right down Westbourne Grove.