375 Kensington High Street

Manhire Associates were appointed by St Edwards in 2009 to commence designs for the luxury development designed by Executive Architect, Squire & Partners. 

The development forms part of a new residential quarter at the junction of Kensington High Street and Warwick Road. Delivered over five phases the scheme comprises seven residential blocks, a triple level basement, car-parking, a gym, management suite and generous commercial space. 

The site slopes southwards down Warwick Road from Kensington High Street, and is directly adjacent to the Network Rail embankment serving Olympia Station.

Building such a large deep basement posed challenges but the project team also developed creative solutions to a number of complex problems. As well as incorporating an ‘adopted highway’ across the development, the podium is carefully landscaped with vents integrated into transfer structures, forming a ‘green finger’ from Kensington High Street, running between a new school building, Kensington Primary Academy and Trinity  House. The façades are intricate with horizontal and vertical bands of stone ‘framing’ the buildings and articulating the facades, with glazing and anodized bronze panels.

Working with Scott Brownrigg’s Delivery Unit together with Squire & Partners, Manhire Associates recognized draw-backs with pre-cast and traditional ‘hand-set’ stone facade solutions and proposed the use of composite lightweight stone veneer panels, which were more ‘sympathetic’ and more compatible with the supporting structure. After identifying the ‘Stone-Lite’ product, a scale mock-up was designed by Manhire Associates to demonstrate the quality of the stone and its relationship with the glazing, anodized bronze panels and supporting frame.

The approach has also been successfully implemented on the soffits of balconies and also the impressive ‘sky-gardens’ which link the buildings.

530 apartments and 63 affordable apartments have been completed and in 2014 the development won the Evening Standard Best London Home.