This retirement community complex, exuding compassion, warmth and an underlying sense of calm, is a winner in the RIBA London Regional Awards
Morris & Company for Pegasus Life
Contract value: Confidential
GIA: 7848m2
Belle Vue is a retirement community comprising four interconnected buildings which frame a sequence of landscaped courtyards and gardens. Its form deals with the constraints of a challenging site – eighbours include the Royal Free Hospital, a school and a nursery – and responds to a varied architectural context. Efficient plans forego long corridors and maximise the number of corner or dual aspect units. Naturally lit shared circulation serves 60 flats with generous inset balconies. Communal roof terraces provide stunning views. Super-insulated facades contribute to impressive energy performance. Tumbled brickwork suggests a satisfying solidity, amplified by a playful array of chamfered window reveals; subtle articulation of the facades creates depth, shadow and a domestic scale. Large but not institutional, the complex exudes compassion, warmth and an underlying sense of calm.
London North RIBA Regional Award
See the rest of the London North winners here
And all the RIBA Regional Awards here