Angel Waterside

Angel Waterside is part of the larger City Road masterplan. This aims to regenerate the land around the City Road Basin, the largest enclosed stretch of water in central London. Much of the land around the basin was owned historically by British Waterways and the site has been derelict and inaccessible to the public since the 1950s.

The scheme was designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards architects in a joint venture with Groveworld Properties to form ‘City Wharf Development Co’. It has transformed an inaccessible inner city former brownfield site into 85 apartments, 5000 sq foot of commercial/office space and a new public park.

Four blocks of the scheme follow the line of the road along Graham Street. On the canal side the apartments are set back to create space for the park. Access to the affordable apartments is separated from the private ones to facilitate ongoing management. All blocks are ‘tenure blind’ – they share the same material specification and use of private outdoor spaces in balconies, roof and garden terraces.

Rather than designing the building with long internal corridors leading to front doors, each of the four blocks has its own separate lift core. Only four or five apartments are accessed on each floor, which increases privacy and sociability. Fewer corridors meant that the architects could design apartments with views to more than one side, increasing the internal light and space quality of the layouts. A 24 hour concierge at ground level keeps the development secure and provides a link for residents to feedback every day management issues.

Angel Waterside shows that it is possible to deliver high quality inner city homes for private and affordable rent that are of identical quality. The scheme has also transformed inaccessible derelict brownfield land into a beautiful public park along the waterside. This park is managed by the local authority, providing well managed green public space within the local area.