London homes designed with wellbeing in mind: flats with social hubs for live-alone Londoners facing future lockdowns

Lockdown is creating problems for lonely Londoners. New homes designed with co-working and socialising spaces are a thoughtful way forward.
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Anna White1 October 2020

Ahead of Mental Health Day on October 10 and with the prospect of a winter spent tackling another wave of coronavirus, Homes & Property takes a look at the preparations being made to support those living alone and working from home, isolated from colleagues and far from family.

“Recognition of mental health was growing prior to the pandemic,” says Craig Hughes, global head of real estate at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “As a result of the lockdown there has been a rise again in awareness — but also in suffering.

“Many Londoners follow a similar pattern. They have their home community where they were raised, then move to the capital for jobs. Here, they find a work community and a hobbies-based community. For some people the pandemic has taken all three away.”

Big business had been preparing to bring back office workers on rotation for short weeks this month. However, the Government’s plea for us to stay put has extended working from home.

Many new-build developments are already converting communal space into co-working areas to enable single people to get out of their homes and meet people

Hackney homes: affordable workspace at The Trampery, a six-acre campus, will sit alongside new homes in Fish Island Village. Apartments start at £445,000

Good design supports mental wellbeing

For award-winning architect Manisha Patel, masterplanning and the design of homes is vital in the support of mental wellbeing, particularly in a post-pandemic city.

“Outside space is so important,” says Patel. “Bigger balconies for all urban homes connect people to the world. Ideally we should build them with an ability to convert into winter gardens in the colder months so we have outdoor living spaces all year round.

“Communal working and meeting spaces are important so people can get out of their workplace. There should be areas to chat, even on corridors and landings of residential towers, so people don’t just pass each other on the stairs.”

Room to breathe: new apartments at Morden Wharf on Greenwich Peninsula, overlook a new Thames-side park. The scheme will also include a new pub and a co-working hub

Craig Hughes agrees: “Schemes should be built so that people bump into each other every day.” Fostering a community feel was at the heart of the Battersea Power Station masterplan. The new micro town was designed so people would run into each other, say the architects, WilkinsonEyre.

Apartment windows and balconies face each other, or overlook amenities and a boulevard of restaurants and bars. Social initiatives are under way, such as the community choir which rehearses via Zoom.

When Flora moved in just before lockdown she didn’t know many people there, so she started a WhatsApp group with 50 neighbours. “People chatted, shared jokes and checked in on each other,” she says. Then she started her business Your Cake UK and delivered cakes to nearby hospitals, GPs, care homes and residents.

“I was really grateful to have such lovely neighbours during this difficult time. There’s such a sense of community,” she says. Flats on sale in the Grade II-listed power station start from £870,000. Call 020 7501 0678.

Landlords of large build-to-rent blocks and management companies should encourage community initiatives and a social calendar, within current restrictions, says PwC’s Craig Hughes. But charging for activities, if it’s seen as profiteering, will breed distrust. “Long-term value lies in creating a happy neighbourhood,” he adds.

Intergenerational living

Manisha Patel is designing intergenerational flats with one connecting room, such as a living room, but two separate units. “These new apartments are built to encourage families to care for the older generation and help young mums bring up children with the grandparents on hand, saving on childcare costs and making it easier to go back to work.” Such homes, she feels, “would be a big step forward in tackling loneliness”.

Getting out: socially distanced yoga is gaining in popularity. Shown here is a More Yoga session at Ram Quarter in Wandsworth (theramquarter.com)
D2 Interactive All

Co-working spaces

Architects are pushing other new urban design theories, as our working patterns change for good. Even after central offices fully reopen, Patel expects more people to work from home for more of the time. But she says it’s “mentally unhealthy” to work full time in a bedroom or at the kitchen table.

New residential developments and existing neighbourhoods need “drop-in centres” and studio space. Cafés, high street banks, libraries, art galleries and leisure centres could provide co-working or artisan spaces to allow those working from home to meet other people. And a residents’ gym or tree planting does not go far enough, says Patel. “We must emulate living standards in the countryside for people in the city.”

Affordable work studios for the next generation will launch by the end of the year at The Trampery in Fish Island Village, Hackney Wick. The six-acre campus and 508 homes will sit side by side. Developer Hill is launching one- and two-bedroom flats to buy in the Lanthorn Building, each with a winter garden and built around landscaped gardens. A roof terrace has space to grow your own herbs and veg. One-bedroom flats start at £445,000, with two-bedroom flats from £610,000. Call 020 3906 1950.

World's first sky pool

New light-filled flats at Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms start from £695,000, with big balconies and views over the Thames. The scheme also has a co-working floor, a lounge, pool tables and a bar. There’s a gym and a cinema, too, while the world’s first floating swimming pool suspended between towers was completed this week. Call EcoWorld Ballymore on 020 3925 1637.

The new 2,300-home White City Living scheme in Shepherd’s Bush has wifi-enabled gardens so that residents can co-work outside on sunken seating next to fire pits, when weather allows. Prices start from £855,000. Call 020 3432 7711.

Upgrading green space

The upgrade of the capital’s green space and the creation of new parkland not only helps Londoners exercise and meet in the open during the pandemic, but also fights the climate change and ecosystem crises — all of which aids mental and physical wellbeing.

This month plans were announced to reimagine Grosvenor Square. New designs by Tonkin Liu architects show a hidden garden at a new lower level with a rainwater collection pool surrounded by tropical plants.

At TwelveTrees Park by Berkeley Homes in West Ham, with 3,800 homes, landscape architects at HTA Design are creating a four-acre wifi-enabled park. A science garden will be attached to the new East London Science School. From £465,000. Call 020 3925 1251.

Ram Quarter by Greenland offers 800 new homes in the heart of Wandsworth. This summer More Yoga ran outdoor classes in the main square. The nearest green space is the adjacent King George’s Park. From £695,000 for a one-bedroom apartment. Call 020 3751 3190.

At Colindale Gardens by Redrow in Barnet, prices start at £357,500 for homes with an outdoor gym, cycle tracks, sports pitches, a central park and podium gardens (020 3811 7068).

And at 1,500-home Morden Wharf on Greenwich Peninsula by U+I, a new park will run beside the Thames, while a warehouse on the site of a tavern flattened in the Blitz is being reborn as a pub and co-working hub. Email info@mordenwharf.com for details.

Upper Riverside: Ena Celoin makes use of the co-working hub at her new home on Greenwich Peninsula
Justine Trickett

Meeting up at the co-work hub

When financier and first-time buyer Ena Celoin went in search of a one-bedroom apartment, she was also looking for a tight-knit community. She found just what she needed at Upper Riverside in Greenwich Peninsula — and it helped her through the lockdown.

The five buildings in the development have a co-working centre, a gym and a pool, with fitness, nutrition and self-care talks. “My work has always been flexible so working from my building was really important,” says Ena, 28. “The co-working hub gives me a change of scenery but also helps me meet new people.”

Studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at Upper Riverside start at £450,000 with Help to Buy available on selected homes. Visit upperriverside.co.uk for details.