On a brownfield site in Walthamstow, once home to London Borough of Waltham Forest council offices, now stands Juniper House - a sixteen-storey mixed-use development comprising 91 dwellings of which over 50% are classified affordable. It is located directly adjacent to Walthamstow Central, a key transport hub with direct links to Central London on the Victoria Line.
The total development comprises four blocks, including a tower, a pair of linear four storey blocks, and a standalone two-storey nursery providing places for 53 local children. The triangular site is tightly constrained by the Great Eastern Railway line to the north, Hoe Street to the west and existing terraces along First Avenue to the south. These constraints helped shape the construction methodology and the building geometry.
The project required a complex Temporary Works sequence to form a basement adjacent to, and several metres below, the nearby main road. Building up and retaining the ground level adjacent to the railway line was required to provide Fire Tender access.
The upper fourteen of sixteen residential storeys cantilever at the first floor, to provide greater accommodation space above, while maximising the public realm at ground level. Inset balconies and a shared communal podium, as well as the neighbouring pocket park, provide amenity for residents.
Two storeys of commercial space are provided across split levels which incorporate a semi-basement and mezzanines, due to the sloping nature of the site. This unit is occupied by the University of Portsmouth, forming the flagship of their new London campus. Price & Myers has been involved in the works to fit out the two storeys of classrooms, a Winter Garden and social spaces.
The project is a joint venture between the London Borough of Waltham Forest and housebuilder, Hill.
Juniper House is a ‘fine example of the way we are incorporating modern techniques to insulate the homes we build, and create sustainable places for people to live’ – Sir Kier Starmer.
