Our building was inspired by the great company it keeps in the Hackney Road conservation area – listed modernist buildings by the likes of Erno Goldfinger, Berthold Lubetkin and Denys Lasdun – but we were also mindful of the smaller scale and finer grain of nearby Victoria terraces.

We’ve created the tallest building on Hackney Road since the 1970s but its careful arrangement means it sits comfortably among its illustrious neighbours. It’s also set well back at ground level, away from the noise and traffic of this major thoroughfare; the pavement has been widened and the London Plane trees retained, providing a welcoming entrance to the shops and workspaces facing the street.

Above the street, residential accommodation wraps around a first-floor courtyard; many homes are accessed along a communal gallery which allows a high percentage to be dual aspect. Within the courtyard, light wells drop natural light into the workspaces below.

All 83 homes have been designed to make the most of the building’s unique location. Large windows capture the amazing views across the city, while inset covered balconies allow the residents to sit outside, even in the English rain.

In the basement is a resident’s cinema and within the terraced garden, which features a children’s playground, is a gym. The fifth floor roof garden is generously planted to complement the area’s existing trees and pockets of green space and offers 360 views of London. And as it’s car free, there’s extensive cycle storage facilities at ground and basement levels.