Signal Townhouses are located near Greenwich’s town centre. The scheme occupies brownfield land on part of the Greenwich Peninsula West Strategic Development Location, which proposes to transform the area into a new high quality urban quarter.
The scale of the immediate surroundings is changing, with larger developments being introduced on the Peninsula and sites immediately to the north, where new building heights vary between 7 to 16-storeys. South of the site is predominantly residential with a mix two and three-storey terrace buildings from pre-1900’s.
U+I’s brief was to create an attractive residential scheme which makes the transition in height from the existing terrace houses with a series of new terrace houses and a second phase of apartment buildings around a plinth courtyard garden. The aspiration was to enhance the existing townscape, provide an arrangement of spaces designed to maximise benefits of daylight and sunlight, and incorporate an enjoyable public realm that encourages community interaction.
The first completed phase includes 16 three-storey family units arranged around a courtyard, which provides high levels of privacy and ensures that there are no north facing/single aspect units. A typical house comprises kitchen and living areas on the ground floor, two bedrooms and shared bathroom on the first floor and ensuite bedroom with terrace on the second floor. The houses are set in landscaped communal gardens.
Perimeter walls are load bearing masonry. High quality brick facade provides texture and tonal variation, window frames and metalwork are darker to create contrast. The courtyard is paved in granite while the private roof terrace to top floor bedroom is decked.
The pre-application process started in July 2013 and the application was formally submitted in January 2014. Consent was granted in October the same year. The project started on site in November 2015 and reached completion in February 2018.