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Niall McLaughlin Architects, Everlyn Road low-cost housing, Silvertown, London, 2004The views out of the site, towards Canary Wharf,for example, were one of the key features the

architect wanted to capitalise upon. Windows at all the corners maximise the views of thepostindustrial landscape.

Whilst not within the immediatecatchment area for the Thames Gatewayredevelopment proposals, the affordablehousing at Evelyn Road, Silvertown, ineast London, by Niall McLaughlinArchitects, has had to overcome many ofthe problems of that massiverejuvenation of both banks of the ThamesEstuary. Completed in 2004, thedevelopment of 12 flats for sale under co-ownership was originally a hugepostindustrial landscape of decaying and

derelict factories, warehouses and docks. The finished project was the result of a

limited competition, ‘Fresh Ideas for LowCost Housing’, held by the Peabody Trust,and set up to find young, innovativearchitectural practices that could take onthe challenge of a very demanding siteand produce high-quality affordablehousing. The initial idea behind thecompetition was to engage with thesefirms and select a winner who wouldthen take on the design for three small

Bruce Stewart describes how the industrial landscape of Silvertown in east London became adesign generator for a housing scheme, which benefits from a treatment that is particular to its siteand, in so doing, adds to the fabric of the area.

sites in the Silvertown area. However, itwas always the intention that all of thoseinvited to participate would be consideredfor future work with the Trust.

As it turned out, the standard of theentries was so high that a single winnercould not be selected, and two firms, AshSakula and Niall McLaughlin, were eachgiven a site to work on (the groundconditions at the third site were suchthat development there was abandoned).

Niall McLaughlin Architects wasfounded in 1991 and, over the years, haswon several prizes for its work, including‘UK Young Architect of the Year’ in 1998.One of the critical starting points in anydesign, for McLaughlin himself, is thehistory of the site, the traces and echoesthat have led to its present-day condition.This may not have an explicitmanifestation in the finished building,but it is a very forceful design generator.

At Silvertown the history of the site is incredibly rich in terms of thedevelopment of urban industriallandscapes. From the mid-19th-centuryindustrial boom to the collapse of Britishmanufacturing, there has been immensedevelopment and decline, all of whichhave left traces, both visible and unseen.The range of industrial processes thatflowered here was particularly wide: arubber processing plant (owned byStephen Winkworth Silver, who gave hisname to the area), a Tate and Lyle sugarrefinery, munitions, jam, soap, matches.Such processes have left their marks andstains, not least of which is a legacy ofcontaminated land and the possibility ofunexploded ordnance. In addition, poor-

Evelyn Road, Silvertown Niall McLaughlin Architects

Home Run

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The very distinctive iridescent film used on the front of the building gives it a very definitepresence when seen against its more

conservative neighbours. This innovative use of materials roots the building much more firmly to its location.

B

50–59%G

0-29% 30–39% 40% 41–49% 60–69% 70–100%F E D C B AEVELYN ROAD

QUALITATIVE

Space-InteriorSpace-ExteriorLocationCommunity

QUANTITATIVE

Construction CostCost-rental/purchaseCost in useSustainability

AESTHETICS

Good Design?AppealInnovative?

This table is based on an analytical method of success in contributing to a solution to housing need. The criteria are: Quality of life – does the project maintain or improve good basic standards? Quantitative factors – has the budget achieved the best it can? Aesthetics – does the building work visually?

B

AB

C

D

C

C

C

D

A

quality workers’ housing previouslystood between the factories on the riverfrontage and the warehouses on the sideof Royal Victoria Dock, so there was alsoan imprint of the domestic amongst thisengine of the empire.

The current condition of the site isone of redevelopment, with an airport,hotel, conference centre and theBritannia village by Barratt Homesalready completed. In general, thearchitectural merit of these newinterventions is not high, with theBarratt housing of a very similar designlanguage to its countless suburbandevelopments around the country.However, this is not suburbia, and assuch the use of an ‘everyplace’ idiom is undervaluing the potential of the site for both the residents and the city.

It is against this backdrop that Niall McLaughlin has inserted a veryconfident, well-resolved scheme. Fourmain strands of thought guided thedesign: ‘1) A rational layout of theinterior, with a large, flexible livingspace; 2) The view from the building,over the strange landscape of LondonDocklands: London City Airport, CanaryWharf and the Millennium Dome; 3) The strange chemical history of the site; and 4) The nature of modernindustrialised construction, in which a timber frame is wrapped in adecorative outer layer.’1

At first glance there is very little toconnect the Peabody Trust housing to its neighbours, but the construction issimilar in both – timber frames clad in‘decorative’ skins. However, it is not justchoice of cladding that really separatesMcLaughlin’s project from the rest of therecently completed housing in the area.One of the critical factors in providingaffordable homes is keeping constructioncosts as low as reasonably possible,hence the use of basic constructiontechnologies. The key to the success ofusing basic building methods is in thethinking about the use of the finishedhome – how it will be lived in.

To maximise one of the explicitfeatures of the site, that it is south

facing, a rational plan layout wasselected, with bedrooms at the rear,away from the road, and living spaces to the front, where the views out overDocklands could be exploited. Thelayout, with loft-style kitchen/living/dining space, was then enhanced byusing higher than normal ceiling heightsto maximise the views. In addition, asmuch built-in storage and furniture as was reasonable wasincluded, the thinking being that,

as this is low-cost/affordable housing,paying for furniture as part of themortgage package would reduce theexpenditure of the prospective owners.

Those eligible as residents for thescheme were selected by the PeabodyTrust based on criteria such as incomelevel (single income below £28,500 anddouble income below £32,500) and fieldof employment (including public-sectortenants, key workers and those oncouncil housing waiting lists). The

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This early sketch by Niall McLaughlin investigates the texture, history andlocation of the former industrial sites. On the North Woolwich shore, a whalebeached herself in 1899 and was subsequently stoned to death by the localworkers – a surreal and cruel image. This research into the history of a site isone of the practice’s major tools in understanding the projects it undertakes.

The ground-floor plan shows the rational planning at Evelyn Road. With themajor views and higher levels of noise being to the south, it was arranged toplace the sleeping accommodation to the rear (the north), with the large open-plan living spaces to the south.

The section takes on the notion of the industrialbackground of the site. There was previously a tea-crate factory in the area, and the sectionreflects the idea of stacked cubes.

shared ownership flats start at £210,000with a share of 30 to 75 per cent for sale.Thus, as an example, a 30 per cent shareof a property would cost the purchaser£63,000, and rent would be payable onthe remaining 70 per cent.2

The exterior cladding was thenconsidered with regard to the ongoinghistory of the area. The industrialprocesses have left their distinctivemark, which McLaughlin describes as‘light, sweetness and colour’,3 and incollaboration with lighting artist MartinRichman, radiant light film material wasselected for the cladding, or wrapping,of the building instead of the usual brickor timber. This material is coated withcolourless metal oxides that disrupt thereflection of light to give an iridescentquality that changes the colour of thewalls as you move around the outside ofthe scheme.

Again, the nature of the history of the site is the generator for the choice

of finish for the back and sides. Theseare clad in timber, but here it has beenfinished in an industrial grey rather than a more naturalistic colour.

The building is very successful as asmall infill project that deals with theparticular. Easily erected industrialconstruction technologies are not onlyappropriate to the history of the location,but also to the need for keeping costs as low as possible. In the wider context of the Thames Gateway redevelopment, is there a model here that could beutilised to produce affordable housing on a much larger scale?

Of course, timber-frameconstruction is obvious and will beused, but the attention to the site and how it can drive thinking is veryspecific. The scale of intervention is what makes the difference. AtSilvertown, a small building has beenadded to the fabric of the area, but theThames Gateway will be creating new

areas for habitation and it is this thatrequires very careful consideration.Cities are the result of an evolutionand have a grain that gives a sense of character and identity. Theconstruction of large swathes ofhousing can be faceless and soulless,and it is the careful consideration ofthe particular that has been achievedhere that will need to be balancedagainst the more general problems ofbuilding large quantities of homes. 4+

SECOND-FLOOR PLAN1 ENTRANCE WAY2 STAIRCASE3 HALL4 LIVING SPACE5 KITCHEN6 BALCONY7 BEDROOM8 BATHROOM9 STORE10 GARDEN11 TERRACE12 COMMUNAL GARDEN13 CYCLE STORAGE

10

7 7 777

13

12

9

5 83

4

2

1

1010

7

10

77

12

93

8

4

5 5

4

83

12

13

2

1

4

583

9

Notes1. Press release from Niall McLaughlin Architects, on completion of the project, 2004.2. Peabody Trust press release, Nicola Millar,Communications Officer, Peabody Trust, 2004. 3. In conversation with the architect, September 2005.

Bruce Stewart is currently researching andwriting The Architects’ Navigation Guide toNew Housing, to be published in early 2006 byWiley-Academy. He trained as an architect andis currently a college teacher at the BartlettSchool of Architecture, UCL London.

1. HALL2. LIVING AREA3. FACADE PANEL4. BEDROOM5. GARDEN6. TERRACE7. ROAD

4 1

1

1

2

2

2

1

4

7

5

3

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