Smart Cressigham

Project Details

CLIENT: Lambeth Estate, Brixton, Greater London

PROGRAMME: Smart Cressingham

SURFACE: 45.000 m2

TEAM: KUDA! (Inaki Arbelaiz)

PROPOSAL: Listed Estate renovation, refurbishment and smart environment. Activity, space recovery and functional zoning masterplan, including urban agriculture [robotized and social], insertion of renewable energy schemes as space creators; passive healthcare; commercial infill spaces to increase activity intensity; urban ecology labs.


  

Project Description

The Cressingham Gardens housing estate consists of 306 homes and borders the Brockwell Park at the council of Lambeth, Brixton, London. It was built in the 1960s led by the late Ted Hollamby, a celebrated public sector architect and William Morris devotee showing strong views about the need for buildings be part with open space around them. Originally only for council tenants but that is no longer the case. As a result of Right to Buy, just over 200 of the homes are now inhabited by council tenants while around 90 are owned by leaseholders or freeholders.

The proposal, commissioned by the Cressingham Gardens Estate Community, starts with a careful infill and activity/function assignment to existing built space and open space. It creates useful space for entrepreneurship activities on green estates linking it to social activity [senior horticulture, and ICT guided horticulture] with the integration of renewable energy within the estate [taking advantage of the large roofing area, which needs renovation for leakage]. Using microsurgery like inserts, technology is used to enhance the existing space and thrust the estate activity.

To better use existing derelict housing units, condensed on the north area of the estate, the proposal carries on with a diffused hotel scheme, where the activity can scale up or down according to demand and available units, following the requirements for the urban ecology labs. Cressingham Garden has required the active participation of the inhabitants, and the creation of a Smart Citizen technology use and priority chain to get the full potential of the estate, canvassing the reality of social adoption with the economy and housing intensity and value the estate is capable of.