Croydon Gateway, Croydon, London, United Kingdom

Vibrant development in 'London's third city' regeneration gets go-ahead
Berkeley Homes’ £140million residential development, designed by Rolfe Judd architects and an important component in the regeneration of Croydon, London, has received planning permission. The scheme will provide 739 apartments in a 44 storey residential tower and courtyard development, many of them affordable, and a new public square.

Croydon is London's largest Borough by population and is situated to the south of the city. While it is already a successful centre for business and arts the area is undergoing a regeneration, Croydon Vison 2020, which hopes to see the area become 'London's third city'. £2billion is to be invested in the area over the next ten years.

The Romans introduced the crocus to Britain, and the name of Croydon may have been derived from the Latin for crocus and valley. The tower’s vibrant pixelated colour scheme reflects the hues of the purple-petal saffron crocus with its vivid orange stigmas. The historic references are appropriate for a tower that sits centrally at the gateway to the town, the modulating colour suggestive of this element of Croydon’s long history.

As such, the outer surface is designed to assume quite an uncompromising idiom folding and wrapping to form the inner enclosure which, by contrast, is moulded in a soft, curvilinear way.

The design dictates a dialogue between two realms, outer and inner, and creates a dramatic backdrop for the resulting landscaped courtyard.
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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