This study for a new mixed-use neighbourhood on the site of the former Berger Paint Factory warehouse represents one of the initial phases of the emerging Chadwell Heath Industrial Park, a designated ‘Transformation Area’ in East London. 

The development will include a mix of 290 homes designed to accommodate a diverse range of families, first-time buyers, and downsizers, alongside a new 4,200 m² Creative Studio that will replace the existing distribution warehouse. The project will be set within a public realm that provides enhanced biodiversity and urban greening opportunities.

The site and surrounding area of Dagenham has a rich history which has informed the narrative for the masterplan. The yards, lanes and vaults of London’s East End provided inspiration for the arrangement of the masterplan with buildings stitched together by interconnecting yards and landscaped routes. 

Buildings are formed on a north-south axis, maximising the opportunities for east and west facing homes. The buildings rise to a series of slender towers that shelter lower-level roof gardens and terraces. Building heights respond to the existing context with the tallest buildings located at south-eastern corner of the site, creating a townscape marker that celebrates the future green spine of the wider masterplan. 

Formally occupied by a factory for Berger Paints, the company founded in the 18th century supplied paint to artists such as J.M.W. Turner and The Doulton Factory in Lambeth. Façade and balcony treatments as well as decorative ceramics at building entrances adopt the hue of pigments produced in the factory and Turner’s work.