Octavia Housing wins prestigious award for Westville Road development

Octavia Housing’s Westville Road scheme has won the prestigious Nancye Goulden award from the Hammersmith Society, for making a ‘positive and beneficial contribution’ to the local environment.

The Hammersmith Society aims to encourage public interest in the architecture, planning and overall environment of Hammersmith to make it ‘a safer, more convenient and better place…to live, work and enjoy’, giving out awards annually to projects that it feels enhance the borough.

Designed by architects at the innovative Paper Project, Westville Road was conceived as an interpretation of the London mews typology and aims to sit well with its varied surroundings whilst maintaining distinctive features.

Each of the three flats has a unique character, achieved through the use of split levels, double height spaces and framed views to maximise the sense of space.

Architect Ben Elsdon said: "The challenge was to produce a building which preserved neighbours’ privacy and light but maximised the feeling of space and light for the occupants of the new units. White rendered walls act as a canvas for shadows from the surrounding mature trees, animating the facade."

Hammersmith and Fulham Mayor, Andrew Johnson presented Octavia Housing project manager Jamie Dobson and Ben Elsdon with the award on Wednesday 20th May at the Hammersmith Society’s Annual General Meeting.

Tom Ryland, Vice Chairman of the Hammersmith Society, said: "Westville Road fits in well with the buildings around it, but is uncompromisingly modern in its design.

"When looking at the building I couldn’t initially tell if it was one house or several flats – it has an intriguing quality and is very well mannered in its design; that’s why it deserves the Nancy Goulden award this year."