THE ARBOUR
WALTHamstow- carbon postive development
A seminal project on the Wild City Journey allowing us to fully embrace an authentic reuse narritive explore the impact of carbon and the use of pioneering techniques and materials as well as bringing ideas of food forestry and carbon sequestration to a bold and ground-breaking urban development.
Formerly a narrow strip of garages and workshops set between two traditional terraces @gs8developments had a vision to set standards for the future. The entire site would be demolished with a zero-waste objective, all onsite materials would be reused but also any new materials had to fit within a carbon model to ensure this project wasn’t just carbon neutral but carbon negative, a global benchmark.
The site and restrictions were challenging but the constraints opened the doors for creativity. We had to be conscious of carbon which meant no imported materials but the scheme had to also be affordable so many native products like stone were unattainable. We wanted to ensure this development was accessible for all, so unassuming wheelchair access was also high priority.
Cemfree concrete had been used in the foundations for the buildings, we wanted to explore this as it allowed us the opportunity to benefit from all the advantages of concrete without the environmental impact although this had never been done before as a finish. We utilised all the crushed concrete and brick from the old workshops and mixed it with Cemfree as a binder. What resulted was a truly unique texture full of hints of old brick, tarmac and even flecks of glass. We utilised larger crushed waste as drainage gullies and salvaged stone cobbles to bleed into planting spaces.
The development is enveloped in a tiered planting system full of edibles for foraging as well as a community grow space and kitchen. Dense planting was essential to explore the potential for sequestering carbon as well as providing the community with a natural and immersive lifestyle in the city.
