London's Ocean Estate began life as a typical modernist tenement tower: Stepney, an already impoverished neighborhood, was badly hit by WWII bombing and was almost completely rebuilt after the war. The then architects sincerely wanted to improve the life of the townspeople, but by the beginning of the 21st century, little reminded of this. The 6,500-person massif has become one of the most underprivileged in Britain, if not Europe - despite its proximity to the City and Canary Wharf, a hub of British wealth. A third of the men in the Ocean Estate were unemployed, few of the residents could get a good education, there was a heroin trade at the lowest prices in Europe, the youth loitering around was entertained by vandalism. The condition of the housing stock corresponded to the criminal situation: four out of every five apartments needed renovation, and a third was overcrowded. In 2001, the government promised residents a complete regeneration of their neighborhood, but they had to wait another 10 years. However, the expectation paid off: new and reconstructed buildings designed by architects Levitt Bernstein, commissioned in 2014, managed to receive many city and national awards as a remarkable example of residential architecture.
The architects' task was to design houses with 819 apartments and renovate another 1,200 apartments, as well as improve the spaces between buildings. Working closely with local residents, Levitt Bernstein has developed a traditional, neighborhood-like layout with courtyards in the center. At the same time, the building is permeable, which makes it safer: many new paths have been created, primarily for pedestrians and cyclists. Blocked ground floor apartments, intended primarily for large families, open onto courtyards, providing these spaces with additional security thanks to “neighborhood supervision”.
The buildings facing the park, oriented to the east and west, are taller so that the maximum number of apartments has a view of the greenery, while those placed on the north-south axis are much lower so as not to shade the courtyards and nearby low-rise block houses.
In such a large-scale regeneration project, given the variety of composition and types of ownership (along with social rental housing, "market" apartments are also provided), it was important for the architects to combine the complex visually. To do this, they turned to color and texture. The impression is made by bright balconies and entrance groups, however, the facades clad with clinker immediately arouse no less interest: both are designed to fit new and updated buildings into a variety of existing buildings, to establish a balance between integrity and variability, which is so necessary for a high-quality urban environment.
The architects chose Hagemeister clinker for the façades of the renovated Ocean Estate due to its attractive shape, tactile qualities and color that can bring even the most extensive wall surfaces to life. In total, 800,000 clinker in English format 215 mm x 102 mm x 64 mm were used for the project by Levitt Bernstein. They were produced by the Hagemeister plant in the city of Nottulln: they were varieties "Alt Berlin" ("Old Berlin") and a specially created for this project "Ocean Estate".
"Old Berlin", anthracite gray, covers the lower part of the new and renewed buildings, emphasizing their tectonics. Lighter and more "lively" "Ocean Estate" - it combines beige and gray shades, additional richness of its color is given by nuances of scale - used for the upper tiers of buildings.
About the project:
Architects: Levitt Bernstein Associates, London
Client: East Thames Housing Association
Clinker: sorting Alt Berlin and Ocean Estate English format (215 mm x 102 mm x 64 mm)
Clinker façade area: about 10,500 m2
