Preston Road, Brighton

This major build-to-rent scheme in Brighton was conceived as a pair of elegant towers rising 18 and 22 storeys respectively above a lively and well-activated ground floor. Positioned opposite Preston Park, the city’s largest public green space, the design sought to create a strong relationship to its setting: commercial and community uses animated the street edge, while upper-level apartments and a roof garden amenity space opened up expansive views across the park and wider city.

The architectural language combined red brick with cream-toned architectural precast concrete, creating a refined yet robust expression suitable for a building of civic presence. The project showcases our facility with programmatically complex large-scale residential-led mixed-use architecture that nonetheless combines design flair with a ruthless concern for spatial efficiency. Having had a very constructive pre-application meeting with planners at Brighton City Council the project was later shelved.