FX AWARDS 2016: THE WINNERS
Mixed-Use Development
Winner: Blake Tower
by Conran + Partners
Photography by Richard John Seymour, Conran and Partners CGI
Sponsored by informare
Once a YMCA youth hostel, this fourth tower of the Barbican housing development has been transformed into 74 apartments. Conran and Partners contemporary design plays homage to the building’s original architectural anatomy, respecting and expressing its brutalist forms and Sixties’ materiality.
The interior of the marketing suite and show apartment has been meticulously designed and built to reveal the refined detailing and high-quality craftsmanship of the new development.
The original layouts and existing concrete structural grid that defined the previous use have been strategically adapted, resulting in apartments with generously sized bedrooms, double-aspect living spaces, framed views and expressed pick-hammered concrete walls.
The iconic curve as seen in the Barbican’s unique balustrades are subtly woven into the design details. The building’s distinctive material palette of pick-hammered concrete, ceramic tile and terrazzo are complemented by a warm, soft and tactile material composition of timber floor, smooth white plaster and refined brassware.
The judges said
‘Lovely mix of materials, pure Conran, a nice addition to a very established design context’ ‘This is a very exciting opportunity to own a home in a rare, iconic building’ ‘A fabulous job has been done of modernising the interiors while keeping the ethos of brutalism by continuing the tradition of focusing just as much on the interiors and juxtaposing the rawness of the exterior with sophisticated warmth in the interiors’
Finalists & judges' comments
Aggregation of Life by 9 Studio Design Group
‘Balanced combination of concrete and timber provide a contemporary aesthetic that is minimal but appropriately warm'
Baylis Old School by Conran + Partners
‘Restoration and new build are both subtle and effective. Sustainability of this architectural period is honoured’
Marina One by Ingenhoven Architects
‘This could be wild, innovative and amazing once built. Super green and the level it has achieved is ultra-rare’
Club Row by Quinn Architects
‘A fabulous restoration project and the admirable very high-quality aimed at bring in creatives’
Tranquillity by Shang Yi Interior Decoration Engineering Co
‘They connected the space very well through the long views using different materials’
