The Rye

A development of 10 handcrafted apartments that puts sustainability and the residents’ experience at the heart of the design.

Working as client, architect and main contractor, our ambition for the project was to create a set of richly detailed apartments on an important corner site.
We began the project by extensively testing the building form against pragmatic issues of access to daylight, privacy and relationship to context.
The formal testing resulted in 2 blocks, unified through their roof-lines and material qualities. A concrete plinth at ground level enhances the ‘sibling’ relationship between the buildings and strengthens the idea of a shared community of homes.
    A facade of clay shingles embed the buildings into their red brick Victorian context. The shingles wrap the buildings in a way that is monolithic and sculptural.
      10,000 handmade clay shingles were produced at the Petersen Tegl factory in Denmark for the project.
          An exposed cross-laminate timber structure is used to create natural and welcoming spaces whilst optimising construction time and minimising carbon emissions.
              Delicate timber joinery infills the CLT frame creating spaces which are warm and domestic. Red Quarry tiles punctuate the timber volumes creating a common language between the inside and outside.
                    A strategy of custom fabrication is employed to create variety and authenticity within the unit types, whilst still allowing the apartments to share a common DNA.

                        Technical Description

                        Status: Completed
                        Type: 10 apartments set over 2 buildings
                        Gross Internal Area: 880 sqm
                        Construction Cost: Confidential
                        Client, Architect & Main Contractor: Tikari Works
                        Project Team: Ty Tikari, Nicola Tikari, Nick O'Reilly, Ewelina Krol
                        Specialist Craftsmen: VT Construct
                        CLT Subcontractor: Eurban
                        Structural Engineer: Webb Yates
                        Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Syntegra
                        Completed Photography: Jack Hobhouse
                        In Progress Photography: Simon Ellis
                        Petersen Tegl Manufacturing Images: Anders Sune Berg