The second phase of William Street Quarter claims to be the first totally privately funded affordable social housing scheme in the UK. Three mews streets lined with family-sized brick terrace
houses define the perimeter of a site once occupied by the monolithic block of the Lintons Estate, while a central 10-storey
tower terminates a mansion-block lined boulevard. Horizontally-banded precast concrete panels (a continuation of Laing
O’Rourke’s Design for Manufacture and Assembly solution and a challenge to the stigmatisation of prefabricated housing)
define the upper levels of the tower and mansion blocks, with projecting balconies, deep reveals and generouslysized
windows helping to break down their mass. Variegated brick is the common uniting material on all lower levels.
Architect: AHMM
Client: Barking council and Laing O’Rourke
