10-storey building with 142 apartments located in the New Islington area, bounded by two canals. Now there is a wasteland around, but developers Urban Splash, known for their bold approach to urban regeneration, intend to build it up with a series of residential buildings located on specially created "fingers" - bounded on three sides by water. It is also planned to form a new recreational area and infrastructure. But while the implementation of this master plan (also by Olsop) has been postponed due to the crisis, and Chips will remain the only new building in all of New Islington for an indefinite period of time.
This house consists of three multi-colored volumes, horizontally displaced relative to each other; at the same time, 9-meter cantilever overhangs were formed from the ends. The bottom block is red-brown, the middle one is dark purple, the topmost one is deep yellow. In addition to, at first glance, randomly scattered window openings of various sizes on their surface, the facades are enlivened by huge letters that add up to the names of the surrounding canals. The building houses 1-, 2- and 3-room apartments, with “affordable” and marketable housing intermingled with each other in all parts of the house.
Using the significant dimensions of the building (100 mx 14 m), Olsop tried to make the layout of the apartments not only functional, but also create the illusion of space where there is very little space. Panoramic glazing is widely used, and the interior walls in many cases are replaced by sliding partitions. The desire to keep within the budget forced developers to save on details, and careless implementation significantly damaged the appearance of the building, but the numerous advantages of the author's work in comparison with a typical project atone for even such "flaws".
In London, another Alsop project was submitted to the authorities for consideration - a hotel in the Blackfriars area. The complex includes a 5-storey new building and refurbishment of the adjacent Mermaid office building and congress center.
The hotel will face the Thames: the river façade is completely glazed, and glass panels with a thin layer of natural stone glued to them are used on the longitudinal sides. Regardless of the material, these will be triangular or diamond-shaped panels that will add dynamism to the appearance of the building. The 28,000 m2 of the new building will house hotel rooms (4 upper floors), a conference center, a banquet hall and a fitness center. The roof will be occupied by an observation terrace.
