Mason & Fifth Westbourne Park: Urban Regeneration on London’s Grand Union Canal

The Mason & Fifth Westbourne Park project has transformed the site previously occupied by the headquarters of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association on the Grand Union Canal into a mixed-use development, attracting a new community of young creatives, entrepreneurs, artists, and professionals to West London.

Designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), the complex comprises a cluster of buildings of varying scale arranged around an urban courtyard on the canal. The centerpiece of the project is a flexible new residential building with 332 units. TiggColl’s interiors include numerous shared amenities, including a lounge, a communal dining room, a listening lounge, a screening room, and a wellness suite with a pool and gym. The project also provides community-facing facilities, such as co-working spaces, offices, and a waterfront restaurant, along with improvements to the public realm.

Context-sensitive architecture

AHMM followed a context-sensitive design approach that responds to the existing urban fabric. So, the complex engages with the surrounding historic architecture through the proportions of its façades and Crittall-style windows. A rich palette of brick, steel, and glazed green terracotta references the ceramics of the adjacent industrial and historic buildings.

At the heart of the complex is a new pocket park accessed from a residential street by way of an arched passage. With a reflective soffit that visually references the canal, the passage leads to the Grand Union Canal towpath. Intended for the local community, this space features a tiered public area intended for performances and leisure activities, transforming the waterside into a new cultural hub for all London.

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Welcoming, elegant interiors

While AHMM shaped the massing, TiggColl’s interior design has given the project its soul by drawing on the identity of surrounding neighborhoods, including Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Portobello Road, and Golborne Road. To create a welcoming, domestic atmosphere, the interior palette comprises rippled fabrics, soft lighting, textured tiles, natural wood, clay, and marble.

Layered textures and warm natural tones greet visitors in the entrance lobby, which features a wavelike fabric ceiling installation that creates a sense of intimacy within this open plan space. Wood floors, a custom marble counter, and exposed concrete columns combine with soft lighting and indoor plants to create an elegant and comfortable urban oasis.

On the tenth floor, the residents’ lounge directly overlooks the canal, offering a shared kitchen and dining area with panoramic views. A lowered wood and fabric ceiling adds a cozy touch when enjoying the London views from this retreat perched above the city.

The wellness suite is a highlight. Located on the lower-ground floor, the spa features curved, fluid lines that recall the movement of water in an interplay of contrasting porcelain, polished marble, and deep-green finishes. Large circular rooflights bring daylight down into the basement level, where the swimming pool reflects and amplifies it.

Hazel Joseph, director at AHMM, describes Mason & Fifth Westbourne Park:

Redeveloping this site has created a unique place in the city, where people can come together and build a community. Our approach is informed by the local area and the site’s unique character, where the city’s intensive use intersects with nature, from the creation of repaired frontages to the north using contextual forms and materials, to the unexpected yet dynamic urban courtyard at the heart of the scheme, which opens up to the south and connects the development to the waterfront.

Rachel Coll, founding director at TiggColl, adds:

Our aim was to capture the contrasting landscapes of the Westway’s industrial concrete canopy and the fluidity of the Grand Union Canal, and to create a design dialogue that bridges the area’s past, present, and future, allowing Mason & Fifth Westbourne Park to become a part of this location’s evolving story.

 

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© James Retief

© James Retief

© James Retief

© James Retief

© James Retief

© Rob Parrish

© Rob Parrish

© Rob Parrish