Hadid’s Hoxton Square project wins approval

4 December, 2008

Speaking at the planning committee meeting last night (Wednesday), Ray Rogers, urban design and conservation manager for Hackney, expressed his support for the scheme saying it followed in the square’s tradition for eclectic architecture.

“This is probably the one place in Shoreditch where you can do a building of this type. Overall we think that there’s an opportunity here to make a valuable contribution to Hoxton Square,” he said.

English Heritage had objected to the 23,000 sq ft scheme, saying it bore no relation to its context(현재의 유서깊은 Hoxton 거리가 품어내는 내재적,외적인 문화의 질감과는 어울리지 않는다는 견해를 가지고,...) and would damage the setting of the square’s listed buildings.

Granting the project planning, conservation area and section 106 consent, councillor Vincent Stops, chairman of Hackney’s planning committee, said the council “looked forward to seeing such a great building here.”

Project architect Dillon Lin – who attended the meeting - described the scheme as a “first of its kind” for Hadid.

Dillon Lin, Project architect

“It’s not got all the trimmings that people are familiar with from the past few years,” he said.
The scheme is funded by art entrepreneur and close friend of Hadid, Kenny Schachter, and includes 12,000 sq ft of gallery space, with the rest of the building given over to residential accommodation.

If the project goes according to schedule, the building will be completed by 2011, making it Hadid’s first completed permanent building in England. The practice’s aquatics centre for the London Olympic Games is due to open the following year.

Credit: Zaha Hadid Architects