Prize-winners in the 8th edition of the ARCHIZINC TROPHY by VMZINC
The second special mention prize in the Collective Housing Category: 28 Elsdale Street in London (UK)) by GPAD London
A COSMOPOLITAN LOOK
In an increasingly vibrant area of London, a corrugated zinc skin unambiguously identifies the vertical extension of a 1920s building.
Hackney, a long-neglected borough in the east of Greater London, became a trendy destination in the city with the 2012 Olympics. The municipality of Hackney forecasts that its population will reach 260,000 by 2025, compared to 220,000 in 2008. This growth is being coordinated by a local development framework, intended to retain the diverse nature of the locality.
The Elsdale Street project applied a densification strategy defined by the local authorities. It focused on the vertical extension of an Art Deco building constructed in the inter-war period on a plot bordered by two streets: a lane and a busier street. The architects at GPAD placed two new floors accommodating eight apartments on top of this two-storey building. The project forms a mixed-use building retaining the medical practice originally housed in the building.
With its vertical extension, the building looks a little like the Flat Iron Building, appearing no longer as a suburban dwelling but claiming its place in the big city. The connection between the lane and the street is strengthened by the use of ANTHRA-ZINC® corrugated cladding, installed horizontally on the curved sections of the building. The corrugated lines prolong the horizontal joints of the brickwork.
This stacking of layers is enhanced with a play on the depth of the volume: balconies, loggias and vertical circulation in the staircase are covered in yellow, and remain visible through the corrugated zinc, which is perforated in places.
Jury's assessment: A vertical extension fluctuating between difference and continuity to create a unique new building.