New Acres

: Wandsworth, London

New Acres, completed for Legal & General Asset Management (L&G), is one of the most substantial build-to-rent schemes in London, providing 1,034 homes across 18 buildings in Zone 2, next to Wandsworth Town Station. Divided across two former retail sites on either side of Swandon Way, the 18 buildings and four podiums include amenities for residents, workspaces, commercial opportunities at street level, and extensive public realm, including a new station square.

The development creates a new residential quarter near the riverside, meeting the increasing demand for affordable, quality rental accommodation. The scheme includes 35% affordable housing within one of Central London’s most established and popular residential areas. The buildings, which range between eight and 17 storeys, balance towers with lower-rise mansion-block-sized buildings. The individual blocks are joined by four podiums, each generously landscaped to create rich outdoor areas for residents and visitors on the first and second floors. New Acres has a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and offers residents a host of lifestyle amenities, including a heated 25m outdoor lido, private dining rooms, a hi-tech gym, and dedicated workspaces. The architecture is tenure-blind, with consistent material and design quality across tenure types. The decision to minimise the building footprint is a defining feature of the development, allowing for fewer flats per core and delivering a scheme where all homes are dual- or triple-aspect. The benefits of dual-aspect apartments were defined early on by the design team as a sacrosanct component of the masterplan to maximise residential amenity.