St Marys Road

This proposed student accommodation building in Ealing has been designed to form a new gateway along St Mary’s Road, picking up on the history and architecture of the area. It sits on an important route that would have once seen coaches transporting people across southwest London – a prominent location at the meeting point between two roads.

Design motifs and materials for the new development have been taken from the church across the road, as well as the neighbouring New Inn pub. The light-coloured brickwork references both St Mary’s and the surrounding Georgian housing. The arches at ground level act as a continuation of the pub along the street edge and inside these spaces there will be a lively retail presence.

A precedent for height has been set across the borough as Ealing features a lot of prominent corner buildings which act as urban markers and anchors of activity, often 4-5 storeys high. Understanding this macro-scale condition allowed Autor to use the building opposite in partnership with the proposed project to define an entrance into the area, acting like gateposts as you approach the church and the public space in front of it.