Clad in glazed tiles with a vertical array of helical wind turbines at its spine, the fourteen-storey tower has become a landmark for Hackney. The building houses sixty-six apartments, and 1,000 square metres of office space. The form of the building is set by its context: the tower stands at the North of the site facing an open area and sits on a four storey plinth, matching the height of the surrounding buildings.
The local planning authority took some persuading that a fourteen-storey tower was the right solution for an area dominated by four storey buildings. The moniker of landmark building is one often employed by architects, but in this case the helical turbines and unique form of the building won the backing not only of Hackney but the GLA and CABE too. A key part of the project was our collaboration with the wind turbine manufacturer, Quiet Revolution, together devising how the building could best harness the wind. The tower acts as an aerofoil, concentrating the greatest wind to the spine of the building where the four vertical turbines are located. The power generated by the turbines exceed the targets set by the Mayor producing up to a third of the buildings electricity and saving over 7 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.
