Barratt regeneration project is Building for Life winner

Leading urban regenerator Barratt has won another accolade for its spectacular Visage development in Swiss Cottage, North London. The award-winning project, which has provided luxury penthouses alongside homes for rent, has been named as a Building for Life winner by the Government advisory body CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

The Building for Life standard has 20 criteria which measure the quality of a scheme’s design and construction; roads, parking and pedestrianisation; environment and community; and character.

The judges said of Visage: “This mixed use redevelopment of obsolete leisure facilities has cleverly provided, via a public-private partnership, a surprising number of high-quality facilities for the local community.

“A regeneration success on a fantastic site…a brilliant ‘street in the sky’ has been created by placing new units on top of the recreation centre.”

Visage is a partnership between Barratt, commercial partner Dawnay Day and Camden Council and features a spectacular 16-storey glass apartment building, including both luxury apartments and family homes for local people, managed by Ujima and Acton Housing Associations. It is now fully sold.

In addition to 166 new homes, a state-of-the-art 76,000 sq ft sports and leisure centre has also been provided for the local community – at no cost to the public purse – as well as a new community centre and a doctors’ surgery. The £95m development forms a key part of the London Borough of Camden’s cultural quarter at Swiss Cottage.

Mark Clare, CEO of Barratt Developments, said: “We are delighted that our Visage development has been recognised by CABE. This groundbreaking partnership project has not only provided much-needed new homes for both sale and rent, but also high-quality facilities for the local community.

“As the Government calls for more homes, more urban regeneration, more social housing and more innovation to create zero carbon homes, we are making progress and delivering on all these fronts.”

The Building for Life standard is the government-endorsed benchmark for well-designed housing and neighbourhoods. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation, and supported by English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and Design for Homes.

Visage has won a Gold Award for Best Exterior Design in the What House? awards and has also been recognised for its design quality by the HBF and The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment.

For more information, visit Barratthomes.co.uk.