Clad in glazed tiles and with a vertical array of helical wind turbines at its spine, the fourteen-storey tower is set to be a landmark for Dalston in North London. Commissioned by Metropolitan Housing Trust, Ramsgate Street will provide 66 apartments for a mix of tenures as well as over a 1,000 sqm of new office space which will act as significant kick-start to the neighbourhood.
The form of the building is set by its context. The tower stands at the north end of the site facing an open area of car park and rail tracks and is supported by a four-storey plinth that spreads south to meet the lower neighbouring buildings. The plinth and the tower are distinct elements where the tower from the car park seems to float above the street as a distinct form, but are simultaneously interlocked, making maximum use of the site and providing a strong edge to the street. The tower houses the smaller shared ownership and for-sale apartments, while the offices and affordable family housing are within the low rise blocks.
The building has been designed to take on the challenge of meeting London's renewable energy targets. A key component of the project was to design a building form which promoted energy generation. We worked with wind turbine manufacturer Quiet Revolution and engineers Price & Myers to investigate how the height and shape of the building could best harness the wind energy at the location. We devised a profile that ensures the tower acts as an aerofoil, concentrating the greatest wind speed to the spine of the building to four vertical turbines. The power generated by the turbines will exceed the targets set by the Greater London Authority producing around a third of the buildings electricity.
Ramsgate Street provides high quality housing in an energy efficient and energy generating iconic building.
