ShedKM transforms neglected Croydon office block into temporary accommodation
UK studio ShedKM has completed Zodiac, the transformation of a brutalist office block in Croydon, London, into temporary accommodation for families at risk of homelessness.
Located in Broad Green, the original office, Zodiac House, was built in the 1960s as part of a wider complex including the Zodiac Court tower block, which became a local icon after featuring as the home of Mark and Jez in the UK sitcom Peep Show.
When developer Common Projects acquired the office building in 2020 with a view to helping meet the Borough's need for temporary accommodation, it had stood derelict for over 25 years, but its concrete-framed structure remained intact.
Working with a steering group of locals, ShedKM set about transforming the former offices into a mix of 73 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes, accompanied by a new public green space and community pavilion.
"The building itself was the perfect opportunity for repurposing into housing; it was close to key transport links and amenities, and the building footprint, depth and structural grid lent itself well for conversion," ShedKM architectural lead Ella Flint told Dezeen.
"One of the key challenges we faced was changing the community's perception of the building without undoing or removing too much of the building's architectural and urban character," she added.
Adopting the U-shaped floor plan of the existing building, ShedKM organised the apartments on either side of a central corridor, looking either outwards towards the city or inwards towards a pair of revived courtyards.
The single-storey undercrofts that previously connected these courtyards have been turned into internal spaces, creating room for a communal residents' lounge and level access through to the newly landscaped green space at Zodiac's eastern entrance.
Aiming to retain the building's distinctive brutalist character, ShedKM kept its existing pebbledash spandrel panels and concrete fins, replacing the original single-glazed windows with double glazing and grey metal panels.
On its two entrances, the green tones of the building's distinctive zodiac plaques are referenced by a series of deep green metal panels.
This shade is carried through to the interiors, where blue-green accents have been used for communal areas, wayfinding elements and front doors, leading into the light, white-painted rooms of the apartments themselves.
"ShedKM's approach to retrofit has always been considered design moves that work with an existing building to enhance its original state – never to erode its historic identity," Flint said.
"From early stages, we knew that our approach to the building's facade would be to retain what felt sensible and introduce new materials that would enhance it."
The newly created green space, named Broad Green Common, was designed with landscape architects Planit and replaces a formerly neglected paved parking area.
At the centre of this green is a 70-square-metre community pavilion that is currently home to the Croydon Smile Hub, created by rehoming an existing cross-laminated timber structure that ShedKM originally designed as a sales booth for another of its projects.
"Broad Green long ago lost the Green in which its name is derived, and Zodiac seeks to repair that loss of public space and offer green space back to the community," Flint explained.
ShedKM is an architecture office based in London, Liverpool and Manchester. Previous projects by the studio include a church in Merseyside designed as a "physical and metaphorical beacon" for the local community.
Other recent adaptive reuse projects in the UK include John Puttick Associates' overhaul of listed warehouses in Grimsby to create a youth centre.
The photography is by Agnese Sanvito.
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