Purley Gardens

Purley, London

Completed: January, 1970

Service: Masterplanning

Sector: Mixed Use

Client: SJI

Scale: 308 apartments; 40,130sqft Leisure Centre & 320 Space Car Park

Self designed a mixed use masterplan to unlock the potential of this complex site in the centre of Purley. The existing ugly multi-storey car park and leisure centre are to be removed and replaced.

The design utilises the 6.5m height difference between Whytcliffe Road South and the High Street to hide the car park below the scheme at level 0 and 1. A pedestrian route cuts through the site and creates a new public square at level 1, to access the new 2 storeys of the leisure centre. The apartments sit above with the 105-apartment senior living block to the High St and the 141-unit BTR and 62 apartment co-living blocks to Whytcliffe Rd. The apartment blocks are carefully shaped, so the mass is kept away from the street frontages, which are 7 storeys, going up to 11 floors inboard. The form also sensitively addresses the adjoining properties and creates a grand public route between the railway station and High Street.