Small sites, particularly those in urban areas, can be disproportionately challenging to deliver–both in terms of securing planning consent, and also financial viability. These two factors are often in conflict with one another: a constrained site may demand a highly bespoke design solution, but this comes with a cost premium. At Symister Mews, the proximity of the site to the existing houses immediately to the east and the listed library to the west meant that the developable envelope was limited. Our response was to deliver an efficient internal layout with corner living rooms, allowing us to place large balconies in strategic locations to make the most of views and to animate the exterior. The green external metalwork recalls the history of the site, matching the colour of the glazed tiles of the bathhouse still to be found around the edges of the site.

Housing • Symister Mews
Cleverly exploiting a challenging urban site to create six social-rented homes.
Neatly exemplifying RCKa’s small site housing expertise, this infill development for Shian Housing Association crafts six social-rented homes from a brownfield site adjoining a Grade II-listed library in Hackney.
The project came about following an appointment to review Shian’s portfolio of land and to find potential locations for new homes. We identified this site—the former location of the Hoxton Baths, which had been used for open storage since the original building was demolished sometime after the Second World War—as suitable for development and worked with the client team to develop a scheme which made efficient use of the site whilst responding to the concerns of existing residents and heritage officers.
The area surrounding the site features a diverse mix of building types and uses, with no single architectural style, consistent historic period, or dominant height. This creates a dynamic and varied streetscape paired with the completed scheme. Across the site at Pitfield Street, there are references to the historical traces of the public baths that once occupied the area. The lightweight metal balconies projecting from the front and side elevations reflect the colour and tone seen in the tiles from the historic site. A single opening in the existing wall at Bowling Green Walk offers glimpses of the internal courtyard at Symister Mews and subtly uses the existing language of No.40 Pitfield Street, blurring the line between old and new.

Six new social-rent homes, each with a private amenity space


Every home is dual or triple aspect


"This project demonstrates how public landowners can eke out high-quality homes from their existing estates. In themselves, schemes like this will make a limited dent in our desperate housing need, but in combination with other similar projects across the city, small sites can make a big difference."
Russell Curtis, Director, RCKa


Client
Shian Housing Association
Status
Completed 2024
Location
Hackney, London
Collaborators
Executive Architect: TOCA Teri Okoro
Structural Engineer: Calford Seaden
M&E Consultant: Peter Deer and Associates
Fire Consultant: Pyrolec Consultancy
Transport Consultant: Pulsar
Contractor: Dial 1st Construction
Project Team
Rosalind Peebles
Lucy Devereux
Michael Pitman
Russell Curtis
Project list
- Project
- New Homes in New Ways
- Scylla Road
- The Wyldewoods
- Padnall Hall
- Broadfields, Common Home
- Deptford Broadway
- High Road Leyton
- Coppetts Road
- Camden Road Hostel
- Begbroke Science Park
- Chigwell Retirement Village
- Chandos Way and Britten Close
- Ealing Small Sites Strategy
- Highgate Newtown Community Centre
- West Malling
- Tropicana
- Park Road, Edmonton
- Filwood Broadway
- Symister Mews
- Birmingham Smithfield
- Staples Corner
- Holes to Homes
- The Children’s Trust
- Ebbsfleet Cultural Colocation Strategy
- Nourish Hub
- L&Q Asset Appraisal
- Lewisham Small Sites SPD
- Bridgewater
- Ryde Business Park
- Clitterhouse Farm
- Hortsley, Seaford
- The Granville
- 23a Leyton Road
- Foundry Mews, Waltham Forest
- Arklow Road
- Enfield Business Centre
- TNG Youth & Community Centre
- De La Rue Technology Centre
- Open Eye Gallery