Living in style 12 meters from a busy railway line

Architects Pitman Tozer have built a 7-story housing block in Mint Street, east London, for Peabody housing that combines market-rate and subsidized apartments in a modern, stylish, efficient building located only 12 meters (40 ft) from a busy railway viaduct. In a departure from the harsh functional towers usually associated with such tight urban sites, the Mint Street building is a pleasant, colorful, curved form that offers living spaces with plenty of light and humane proportions.

This difficult site in east London is a former car park, sandwiched in a constricted urban spot between the viaduct, existing housing and a large light industrial building that was being retro-fitted for creative office "hub" use at the same time. Peabody (formerly the Peabody Trust), a social housing organization that has been active in the UK since the late 19th century, acquired the land and the light industrial building behind it and decided to develop both in parallel.

Pitman Tozers winning scheme creates 67 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and embraces the site outward, rather than trying to exist in isolation from its surroundings. The building curves with the shape of the rail line, and windows at the frontage face boldly onto the trains, rather than being turned away, with entrances opening toward the viaduct.

This was a deliberate decision by the architects, who could have chosen to have all of the windows twist in a different direction or face inward in some kind of courtyard arrangement, which would have been darker and much less engaged with the neighborhood. The plan works to maximize the natural light and expansive views, which are unobstructed, except when trains are passing.

While having such a wide view is a bonus, there is the inevitable issue of noise. Nowadays, window glass can be made super-efficient, reducing external noise to almost nothing. Acoustic glazing on the living room windows gives a sound reduction of 41 dB, which, as I was able to witness, translates to an experience of almost complete silence.

But this is only part of the solution at Mint Street. Apartments facing onto the viaduct have a "winter garden" space, which is basically an enclosed balcony, with the living/dining room sitting behind it, and the kitchen in the deepest reach of the plan. With the windows closed, this additional room acts as a double-layer buffer to the rail noise, as well as providing a visual separation.

Noise and distraction are of most concern for sleeping areas. At Mint Street the ground-level apartments have bedrooms facing the quiet courtyard at the back. They also have bedrooms facing the railway, but these are fitted with acoustic glazing and an inner tertiary pane, a combination that achieves a total noise reduction of 47 dB.

The bedrooms on the upper floors that face the viaduct are located behind the winter gardens, which have double-glazing on the outer surface and an extra layer of glazing and solid wall inside.

Sealing off the interiors, of course, has implications for air flow. The Mint Street development uses a mechanical ventilation system that draws fresh air from the back of the building inside, delivering it through vents in every apartment. The same system also takes stale air out and can be boosted when necessary.

Sections of windows at the rear of the buildings are fitted with ventilation screens, which are similar to window screens you find in North America (though made of good-quality timber rather than metal mesh), but which are strangely uncommon in Europe and the UK.

Continue reading here:
Living in style 12 meters from a busy railway line