Westmead

Location: Westminster, London

Brick Manufacturer: wienerberger Limited

Brick Name: Marzial

Architect: Child Graddon Lewis

Brickwork Contractor: AVV Solutions

Westmead delivers 65 new all-affordable homes for Westminster City Council on a constrained urban site in Westbourne Park, replacing a redundant former care home with a high-quality, low-energy residential development. Completed in January 2026, the scheme provides a mix of social rented and London Living Rent homes, including family-sized accommodation, and has achieved AECB CarbonLite certification. It demonstrates how sustainable design, affordability and architectural quality can be delivered together within a local authority housing project.

Brick specification and onsite workmanship is central to the architectural success of the scheme. The building sits between varied neighbours, including London stock and stucco Victorian conservation area streets to the south, yellow/brown brick late twentieth-century local authority housing to the north and west, mature trees and public open spaces directy adjacent, and a nearby listed red brick church. A Wienerberger Marziale brick was selected to provide a warm, light-multi tone that could mediate between these contexts. Its colour and texture help the building feel familiar and rooted in Westbourne Park, while still giving it a distinct contemporary identity.

The massing was deliberately kept simple to support the project’s low-energy strategy. A compact building form reduced heat loss and helped achieve the required environmental performance, but this also created the risk of overly flat elevations. Brickwork became the means of adding depth, rhythm and craft without compromising the efficiency of the envelope. The main façades are laid in stretched bond with flush joints, giving a calm and ordered base texture. Around balconies and window groupings, Flemish bond panels with inset headers extend the perceived openings and create a richer play of light and shadow. Vertical soldier courses form horizontal banding at the upper floors and across the lower ground and ground floor datum, helping to break down the scale of the six-storey building.

Brick also plays an important role in marking threshold and occupation. Maisonette front doors, paired entrances and recessed balconies are tied into the brick composition, creating a slow vertical rhythm along Tavistock Road, akin to the neighbouring conservation area terraaces, and giving the homes a strong residential presence. At corners with irregular angles, cut bricks were used to form angles cleanly and robustly, reinforcing the sense of permanence and care in the construction.

The brick outer leaf forms part of a high-performance masonry cavity wall, with masonry support angles every other floor. The deep cavity required to accommodate the enhanced insulation was carefully coordinated by the design and construction team, allowing the project to combine robust brick construction with demanding energy targets. Terracotta-coloured reconstituted stone and pigmented concrete masonry panels complement the brickwork at entrances and key elements, adding warmth while keeping the material language grounded in masonry rather than lightweight rainscreen.

Delivered by Willmott Dixon Construction with AVV Solutions as brickwork subcontractor, Westmead shows how clay brick can contribute to sustainable, durable and generous affordable housing: contextual, robust, low-energy and rich in detail.