Mint Street Peabody Housing Bethnal Green

It is one of the first schemes in London to deliver affordable rented housing under the Affordable Rent Model, a Government initiative introduced in 2012. Replacing a single-storey of light industrial units and a car park, the new £11m development is located on a busy urban site alongside a railway viaduct in Bethnal Green, East London. The development creates a new London street, Mint Street, a paved pedestrian route between the overground and underground stations at Bethnal Green.

The 7-storey brick building curves in line with the adjacent railway viaduct. Providing well laid out accommodation, the building includes a mix of one, two and three bedroom homes on all levels. It updates the typology of the traditional mansion block, using housing to make city streets for the 21st century. Spacious and light-filled apartments are orientated southeast with living rooms overlooking the railway. In between living rooms and the rail line, glazed winter gardens offer private amenity space and create a ‘buffer zone’ to provide acoustic and visual separation from the noise of passing trains. Bedrooms are located on the quieter north-western side of the development, overlooking a communal courtyard.

The building is characterised by the playful use of different brick types including green glazed bricks employed on the ground and first floors at Mint Street to create a distinctive base and contrast with Staffordshire Blue Engineering brick above. The 4-storeys above are cantilevered beyond the line of the base, emphasising the horizontal quality of the street elevation whilst the brick detailing accentuates its curve. The upper level is recessed, creating terraces to the top floor apartments, which offer expansive views of the city skyline. A private landscaped courtyard with play space is situated to the rear of the building, providing communal outdoor space to all residents.