Silvermills provides 132 new apartments on an edge of town centre site in Lewisham. The development is adjacent to the completed Silkworks development, also by St James. Silvermills provides 33% affordable units within a mixture of 13 studio, 63 one. 47 two and 9 three bedroom apartments.
The development is formed from three modulated pavilions. The orientation of the pavilions reflects the existing pedestrian routes around and through the site, creating vistas and views into and within the new landscaped courtyard either side of Silk Mills Path – an important connection to the town centre. Within each pavilion, internal layouts are arranged to minimise overlooking between residential units whilst promote passive surveillance to improve the security of the site. Its former use as industrial premises and workshops has led the surrounding buildings to ‘turn their back’ on the site.
The design aims to create activity along Conington Road for the first time in decades, through the location of entrances to the ground floor apartments, with thresholds that can be personalised with plants and furniture. The pavilions are read as volumes from both Conington Road and Silk Mills Path and are clad in brick. The tone and texture of the brick has been tested to provide a suitable transition between the predominantly white insulated render and buff brick of the Silkworks development and the darker brick of the houses to the north and east of the site. The development meets CfSH Level 3.
The site has good accessibility to public transport, lying close to Elverson Road station and Lewisham station, which is served by a number of bus routes. The development is car free. By using air source heat pumps, the scheme meets a 20% on-site renewable contribution.
Our designs were approved by the planning committee in January 2010 and were completed on site in March 2012.
