Wembley Northern Lands is one of London’s biggest opportunity areas and is seeing the fruition of thousands of dwellings and student residences next to hotels and new businesses. GRID’s competition winning perimeter block creates new enclosed and robust streets yet contains a one acre private garden for the benefit of the residents. These will become the sought after views and location with the highest value. There are many phases within the development and many cores for affordable tenures and private rental sector apartments. Each residential building has a street entrance and a second access from the central garden. A ‘super lobby’ becomes the ceremonial front door but there is a second garden entrance from a new pocket park also designed by GRID. The Garden is, in effect, a deck over a grade car park; part green and part water with the middle third being trees planted at car park level. However the deck is both light weight with a concrete portion containing a water feature to enhance sales rates. The modulation of the mass is a response to the overall masterplan with a series of mansion blocks and taller point blocks. The predominant material is three related colours of brick, essential for this scale of the project. Thereafter the architecture varies depending on its location- robust for the street, more civic for the Town Hall facing facades and a taller more slender tower proportion with aluminium panels to give reflections when viewed at distance. Everything is based on a series of modules and the variations follow that theme by simple material changes or using different handrails to balconies. GRID has developed the construction drawings and all phases are well underway- speed being aided by not having basements. SISK are the contractors.