HENDON WATERSIDE MASTERPLAN
A thriving and cohesive neighbourhood
Hendon Waterside is one of north-west London’s major regeneration projects, located near Hendon Station on slopes leading down from the historic Watling Street (the A5) to the Welsh Harp Reservoir. The development aims to transform a once cut-off, local authority housing estate into a thriving and cohesive neighbourhood with a distinctive identity and good connections to its surrounding spaces and the rest of London.
Makower Architects became the masterplanner for the final phases 5 and 6, expanding upon the original masterplan’s key focus to increase the permeability between the buildings, public spaces and the water. Alongside a primary new green space and a 175m-long footbridge, the development provides 2,000+ new homes, a school, a community centre, a health centre and a small amount of retail.
CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR
Our approach to the architectural character of the development was to avoid a top-down masterplan and instead allow for a more expressive formation of a modern vernacular with a loosely unified consistency of building type, components and proportions but allowing for infinite variation.
This approach to the masterplan positions the emphasis on the importance of ordinary, well-built buildings or spaces, which seen from afar and close up contribute to a sense of place and identity. The 18 buildings designed though our guidelines, transcend the lightweight quality of the everyday vernacular to achieve a balance between solidity, simplicity and richness.
Developing upon the earlier phases of the masterplan, we proposed a wide use of brickwork to harmonise with the sites contexts. We introduced to the predominantly buff palette some additional pinks, reds and browns. Special attention was given to the entrance points with characterful porch highlights to provide a stronger sense of home.
The development introduces 13 new buildings, including four tall towers along the waterfront, two of which are by Makower Architects