This mixed use proposal for a Hackney based development team fronted by the Urban Edge Group retains the concrete frame of the existing library on Dalston Lane and introduces a new building behind with stepped courtyards over 2 levels sandwiched between.

The courtyards allow light into the heart of the development and ensure a secure environment for the occupants. The development proposes restaurant and retail on the ground, with creative industries on the first, and residential units on the second and third floors. The scheme takes advantage of the heavy concrete construction of the existing library by building lightweight floors above using a sustainable cross laminated timber panel system and avoiding new foundations.

The proposals preserve the existing trees and current set back from Dalston Lane with the public space in front of the building redefined through the provision of street furniture and resurfacing. This ‘pocket’ in the building line will articulate the street scene and provide an active inhabitable area in front of the ground floor units. The new floors above will be punctuated with large apertures spanning 2 floors referencing the existing structure below.