{"id":6056,"date":"2026-02-23T10:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=6056"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:17:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:17:30","slug":"scalloped-facade-ensures-strong-civic-presence-for-london-housing-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/scalloped-facade-ensures-strong-civic-presence-for-london-housing-block\/","title":{"rendered":"Scalloped facade ensures “strong civic presence” for London housing block"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Albion<\/div>\n

A scalloped facade<\/a> of white brickwork<\/a> overlooks a public square at Albion Street, a housing<\/a> block in east London<\/a> by local architecture studio Bell Phillips<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Located on the site of the former Albion Street Civic Centre in Rotherhithe, the 3,027-square-metre project provides 26 homes for social rent and shared ownership, alongside retail spaces and a public square.<\/p>\n

\"Street
Bell Phillips has completed a housing block in east London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the housing block’s design, Bell Phillips<\/a> sought a “common language” between two distinctive Grade-II listed churches that bookend the site \u2013 the 1920s St Olav’s Norwegian Church and the 1950s Finnish Church in London.<\/p>\n

To the northeast, the older church informed a larger, five-storey red-brick block, which sits on a large plinth containing retail spaces to complement the existing shops on the opposite side of the street.<\/p>\n

\"Facade
It has a scalloped facade of white brickwork<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By contrast, the smaller southeastern block nods to the more modernist style of the Finnish Church, finished in white brickwork with a distinctive scalloped facade overlooking the public square.<\/p>\n

“The two-storey red brick plinth responds to the horizontal banding of the traditionally-styled Norwegian Church, while white brickwork is used to tie together with the tone of the Finnish Church,” explained Bell Phillips co-founder Tim Bell.<\/p>\n

\"Close-up
Deep-set balconies overlook a public square<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The materials palette suits a building that seeks to achieve a strong civic presence, and enabled the creation of a distinctive scalloped fa\u00e7ade that sits comfortably alongside its similarly characterful neighbours,” Bell added.<\/p>\n

“Both of these architectural elements are new, unexpected, and intriguing, but simultaneously harmonious with the existing architecture.”<\/p>\n