Bridge House
Studioshaw announces the completion of Bridge House, an eight-storey, 6,250 sqm mixed-use development at the heart of Hackney Wick. Delivering 40 apartments alongside dual-level commercial and community spaces, and set beside a new public square, the project marks the practice’s largest scheme to date. Its completion coincides with Studioshaw’s tenth anniversary and the delivery of its 100th project.
Commissioned by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) following a 2020 competition, the brief called for a residential building and high-quality public realm that could respond with clarity to a complex and highly visible site.
Positioned between the Hertford Union Canal, a redesigned bridge approach and a newly formed square, Bridge House sits at the convergence of changing levels, pedestrian routes and public space. Now, a walking passage and open square align with a new bridge across the canal to Fish Island, creating a cohesive sequence of spaces connecting the building to its wider context.
West- and south-facing colonnades extend the public realm into the building, while the ground plane steps gently across a five-metre level change to form a series of sheltered spaces that feel both civic and intimate.
Deliberately distinct from the brick-dominated developments surrounding it, Bridge House proposes an alternative architectural and material language. Its structure is its architecture: an in-situ cast concrete frame, produced less than a mile from the site, is expressed externally rather than concealed behind additional cladding. A fair-faced concrete façade, exposed slab edges and double-height bays establish a calm, regular rhythm, while grooved GRC panels and a Forticrete blockwork base add texture and depth. Generous windows line the colonnade, creating both a robust edge to the public realm and highly usable internal spaces.
Pink columns set within the balconies introduce colour into an otherwise restrained composition. The columns and slabs were engineered to be as slender as possible, giving the façades, together with stainless-steel mesh balustrades, a sense of precision and elegance.
The result is a building shaped directly by its structure, use and setting, with a spatial richness and architectural refinement rarely found in developer-led housing. Crucially, Studioshaw has achieved this elevated civic presence within standard cost and programme constraints.
This material clarity is matched by a strong social ambition. All apartments are dual-aspect, improving natural light and ventilation, with generous inset balconies, the majority facing south-west. Deck access replaces internal corridors to enhance the residential experience, while a rooftop garden offers views across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and East Bank.
