Its the tenants favourite block, says Lisa Park, Guinness Homes estate manager, as we approach the striped-brick flank of Bulrush Court across the small public space adjacent to it. Designed by Pitman Tozer Architects, its the latest addition to the planned 965-unit Leaside Lock development in Tower Hamlets, masterplanned by Assael and developed by the Guinness Partnership together with Danescroft, which managed delivery of the scheme.Pitman Tozers connection with the site goes back to 2016-18 when, working with BPTW, it secured planning consent on it for 450 homes for developer Lindhill. After the site was sold to Guinness in 2018, the practice was retained to redesign this one block as 100 per cent affordable housing.The development sits to the north of Bromley-by-Bow station, next to where the north-south A12 Blackwall Tunnel approach crosses TfLs east-west District tube line. To the north-east it is bounded by the River Lea hence the developments name on its way to disgorge into the Thames further south at Limehouse.AdvertisementThe scheme is part of the Bromley-by-Bow South masterplan, one of the last chunks of land developed under the remit of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) set up in the aftermath of the 2012 Olympic Games to oversee the development of a swathe of land dropping south from the Olympic Park along the River Lea. Previously occupied by light industry, this has gradually been displaced and redeveloped primarily for housing, together with commercial and retail space with a mix, too, of retrofitted historic industrial buildings, such as the recent Three Mills Studios development by Gort Scott, which sits nearby.The 500-unit first phase of the Leaside Lock scheme consisted of five linked blocks designed by Assael, varying in height between nine and 28 storeys, which effectively hug the edges of the site and deal with the challenging urban conditions of adjacent road and railway by placing the housing primarily build-to-rent and shared ownership units above a plinth of commercial and retail space.These blocks corral and shelter a small protected piazza between them, which, still rather barren, has been carefully if minimally landscaped with high-quality finishes. It neatly incorporates services, such as an integrated below-level garbage collection system embedded in its periphery. The square creates a much-needed centre of gravity to the scheme in what is a relatively harsh urban environment.The northern side of this square is now enclosed by the new Pitman Tozer-designed block, which accommodates at one end a generously proportioned, solidly fitted-out concierges office that will serve the whole scheme. The block, phase two of the development, provides 144 affordable and social-rent units arranged over seven to nine storeys, which contributes to the almost 50 per cent affordable unit mix planned across the whole site. Phase three will see a series of blocks built out to the north-east along a route leading to the River Lea towpath.Compared with the more faceted forms of the earlier blocks by Assael, with their variegated green and pink metal cladding, the new blocks brick form appears more orthogonal and sober, an impression relieved by its window lines being picked out in a yellower brick and small horizontal striations between openings that lend it a rather mid-century look.AdvertisementThe retro feel increases to the west. Here, a courtyard scoops in, revealing the block to be U-shaped in footprint, its inner brick corners curved and a series of boldly expressed curve-cornered brick-clad balconies continuing the language and horizontal feel of the whole. Im pleased we managed to keep the curved corners; I thought they would be the first things to be cut with value engineering, says Luke Tozer, one of the founding directors of Pitman Tozer Architects.The unexpected soft, bullnosed roundedness weirdly chimes with the blocks rather rustic name, Bulrush Court although the latter was clearly chosen as a piece of nature-washing marketing, a reference to the nearby river.The overall effect, with its rounded-off, relatively low-slung form, suggests Moderne Art Deco as though the block is some fragment left over from a 1930s development. Tozer confirms it is a purposeful echo: We looked at Florin Court as a model. This mansion block, designed by Guy Morgan and Partners in 1936, faces onto Charterhouse Square in Clerkenwell and gained fleeting fame from its appearance in the opening credits of ITVs long-running Poirot series as the supposed London home of Agatha Christies fictional detective.In fact Bulrush Court is the latest iteration in a series of blocks Pitman Tozer has designed using the mid-rise mansion block as a model. Were very interested in how it provides density but on a relatively human scale, says Tozer. Previous examples by the practice include two schemes for Peabody which, each in its own way, humanised notably difficult sites. The 2014 Mint Street 67-unit block in Bethnal Green has an elegantly curved, grey brick and mint-green tile faade sitting hard-up against an adjacent railway viaduct, mitigating the noise from this through a layer of winter gardens. And The Reach, a block of 66 homes in Thamesmead completed in 2019, wraps around a generous communal garden that provides a green barrier of separation from the busy A2016 and Belmarsh Prison beyond, its balcony-access design also channelling 1930s blocks.While Bulrush Court has a smaller, tighter footprint than the similarly U-shaped Reach, it also establishes its own space. The more compact courtyard it encloses gives the block a focus and creates a sense of place for residents on an urban site where the only defining features are the hard transport arteries hemming it in.The courtyard space, landscaped by East, is well-planned, with two areas containing play equipment, one fenced around, already being intensively used by kids when we visited. Other, softer areas of bedding are planted with young trees, promising in time to provide more animation and shade. These in turn form green thresholds to the private amenity spaces of the ground-floor flats and to the four main entrances at the courtyards corners.These lead into small entrance lobbies, each with a copious adjacent bike store. Off each of these a stair serves either end of two elongated cores. Guinness Homes presciently insisted on this double-stair provision as a fire safety requirement before the legislative outcome of the Grenfell Fire tragedy made it mandatory for all new blocks over 18m.Flats open off internal corridors, which link through the spine of the block. While Im no fan of this arrangement, here each presents a short run and is naturally lit at one end by a window, mitigating the internalised feel. However, the use of corridor access does mean on plan that only corner flats enjoy a dual aspect, limiting cross-ventilation.At eighth floor level, a terrace provides a further communal space. It is dotted with raised beds for residents to do their own gardening. People have already started planting them out, says Park, indicating the mix of plants dotting the beds as we walk across the terrace. Roofs are otherwise green or fitted with PVs, which further lower the carbon costs of the heating. This is supplied through a site-wide heat network, served from a central energy centre.Throughout the scheme, the quality of the brickwork is impressive: Weve actually used four types of brick, says Tozer, pointing to grey engineering brick used for the plinths and a more variegated stock lining the courtyard, in contrast with the main russet red and yellow facing bricks. We avoided using specials, too: the curves are created by cutting regular bricks. Indeed, the overall quality of construction and maintenance of key detailing is indicative of a scheme in which Pitman Tozer was retained by the client to maintain oversight on construction.Having said that, a few aspects of the design, such as the white powder-coated lipped aluminium soffits of each balcony jar. Its a cover detail that incorporates MHVR ductwork, external vents, an alarm sounder and emergency lighting, the latter reflecting the Guinness Partnerships safety concern. Walking around the development, Park notes there have been issues as tenants settle in.There have been some incidents of knife crime and bikes stolen, so weve had to issue a number of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs). You always have to set and keep setting the ground rules at first. She adds that the ultimate sanction of losing your tenancy is a powerful one.For all the vegetable-planting opportunities on the roof, there is always an element of stick, as well carrot, about managing quality of life in a housing block.It goes to show that, aside from good design, a key aspect to good housing provision is also decent, hands-on management. Having visited two other local authority and build-to-rent schemes earlier on the same day, the Guinness Trust block was the only one where we have been met by a manager. Elsewhere, concierges mixing up keys to flats and caretakers not briefed about our visit pointed up the pitfalls of relying on hands-off management and virtual communications.But, aside from its responsible approach to management, this is a scheme that, through simple, uncostly design moves, provides a distinctive sense of place for its residents a key factor in its day-to-day success as a dwelling and thus its long-term sustainability.Project dataStart on site: April 2021Completion: May 2024Gross internal floor area: 12,200m2Construction cost: 35 millionConstruction cost per m2: 2,900Architect: Pitman Tozer ArchitectsClient: The Guinness PartnershipExecutive architect: Falconer Chester Hall ArchitectsStructural engineer: WatermansM&E consultant: Couch Perry Wilkes (MEP), Hoare Lea (MEP, CMT)Quantity surveyor: Arcadis (cost consultant)Landscape: EastPlanning consultant: Simply PlanningTownscape and heritage consultant: Peter Stewart ConsultancyTransport consultant: SteerFire consultant: JGA FireDaylight, sunlight and overshadowing consultant: GIA SurveyorsEnvironmental impact assessor: AECOMClerk of works: Rund PartnershipWind and microclimate consultant: Rowan Williams Davies & IrwinProject manager: Danescroft/ArcadisPrincipal designer: CalfordseadenCDM co-ordinator: CalfordseadenApproved building inspector: Bureau Veritas Building Control UKMain contractor: Lovell/HenryCAD software used: RevitAnnual CO2 emissions: 10 kgCO2/m2 (Part L regulated emissions)Sustainability dataPercentage of floor area with daylight factor >2%: Not suppliedPercentage of floor area with daylight factor >5%: Not suppliedOn-site energy generation: 2% reduction in regulated carbon emissionsHeating and hot water load: Not availableTotal energy load: Not availableCarbon emissions (all): 10 kgCO2/m2 (Part L regulated emissions)Annual mains water consumption: 38 m3/occupant (estimated)Airtightness at 50Pa: 3 m3/hr/m2Area-weighted U-value Floor U-value: 0.13 W/m2K,Roof U-value 0.17 W/m2K, Wall U-value: 0.15 W/m2K, Window U-value 1.4 W/m2KEmbodied/whole-life carbon: Not availablePredicted design life: 60-100 years