Concept

The eight storey building is made up of studio, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments and also includes a number of retail units at street level. These units are ideal for small cafes, restaurants or specialist food shops.

"The principal elevations face east and west and in terms of the design approach we decided to have different design solutions for each aspect. On the east side of the building, we adopted a 'formal' response to the surrounding streets by arranging the accommodation so the apartments are stacked to form bays that are redolent of town houses, thereby creating a vertical emphasis."

"On the west side of the building we chose a radically different approach to achieve a more 'informal' effect, as this side of the building addresses the public open space of the organic market. We gave this elevation a horizontal emphasis. This was achieved by grouping the windows in a horizontal arrangement and expressing the articulation of different levels of the building by recesses in the elevation. Some, but not all, of the apartments on the western side have balconies. We positioned these in a random pattern which we felt was more 'organic' and thereby in keeping with the spirit of the market place. We also included sliding louvered screens to windows as a shading device which added a further 'organic' element. The position of louvers will change according to residents needs."