Farrells are making the ordinary ‘extraordinary’

Lyons Place, Westminster

Lyons Place on the Edgware Road references the areas Art Deco character, creating a landmark scheme that is in tune with the culture and context of its location. Delivered with a complete architectural and interior design service, the outcome is a much-needed and colourful addition to this major London artery. Creating 76 high quality homes that are mixed tenure and tenure blind, 60 per cent of which are affordable, Farrells have created a timeless addition to the London cityscape with new retail uses and red columns at street level, reminiscent of art deco petrol pumps.

“Farrells’ ability to contextualise, to give a project a story, to integrate it into the urban fabric, is something that they have done successfully for years.”
– Mike Hussey, CEO of Almacantar

Royal Albert Dock, Newham

At Royal Albert Dock, the client’s vision was to design a state-of-the-art business district that would act as a platform for financial, high-tech and knowledge driven industries, attracting up to 20,000 new jobs and creating 1,000 new homes. The architectural design would need to address the client’s desire to create quality buildings fast and the key was modular construction. Just over 100 pre-cast panels were used to fully clad all five of the buildings in the first phase. At maximum capacity, that meant 10 panels were being installed every day. Today this scheme is the largest development of its kind in the UK and is set to become London’s third business district, worth some £6bn to the UK economy. Another example of creating a landmarks scheme that delivers on the client brief and also for the wider economy.

“Farrells have given us world class architecture with a visionary and pragmatic approach to modular construction.”
– Weiping Xu, Chairman of ABP

Chelsea Waterfront, Kensington & Chelsea

Chelsea Waterfront, is a residential-led, mixed-use scheme on the north bank of the River Thames. Farrells have delivered this scheme from concept to completion, taking inspiration from the townhouse architecture of the borough, and the iconic Lots Road Power Station to create a strong sense of narrative. The development includes two towers of 37 and 25 storeys, as well as mid-rise apartments situated on the river’s edge, surrounded by landscaped gardens that are publicly accessible, opening up 400m of waterfront to the public.

“Chelsea Waterfront is a landmark development which seamlessly blends London’s heritage with cutting edge architecture and design.”
– Edmond Ho, Executive Director of Cheung Keung Properties

The Horizon Building, Ilford

The Horizon Building is located next to the new Crossrail station in Ilford, East London. The brief for U+I was to take a dated 1980s office block and create comfortable and stylish living spaces on time and on budget. Farrells drew upon two notable historic events in Ilford for design inspiration – the establishment of ‘Ilford Photo’ in 1879, and the arrival in the 1920’s of John Logie Baird to work on his vision for the first black and white television set. The result is 122 high quality, modern homes, influenced by the areas historical narrative, including the graphic design and numbering of apartments, and a historically accurate colour palette. The majority of apartments are already sold, and for the residents of Ilford this former office block is now offering much needed local housing, completely at one with the surrounding area.

“Farrells didn’t come to the table with pre-determined ideas and pre-determined concepts, but researched the project, the local community and the history of Ilford, and allowed that to influence the design.”

– Mark Richardson, Director of Delivery at U+I

Farrells don’t have a ‘house style’, their designers and planners think freely about what will work best for the client and the location. Strong core values mean that their schemes deliver on so many levels – they work for the community, they work for the city and they work for the commissioning client, without whose vision and investment they may never have pushed the boundaries.

With half a century of architectural leadership, sophisticated master planning and intelligent advocacy, Farrells continue to challenge the status quo, question received wisdom and make the ordinary built environment truly extraordinary.